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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/doctrineofabsoluOOzanciala 


THE 

DOCTRINE 

OF 

ABSOLUTE   PREDESTINATION 


TRANSLATED    IN     GREAT     MEASURE     FROS£ 
THE    LATIN    OF 

JEROM  ZANCHIUS: 

WITH 

SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  HIS  LIFE  PREFIXED*. 

AND 

AN  APPENDIX 

CONCERNING    THE     FATE    OF    THE    ANCIENTS* 
ALSO, 

A    CAVEAT  AGAINST   UNSOUND    DOCTRINES. 

TO  WHICH   IS  ADDED. 

A    LETTER  TO    THE 

REV.  JOHN  WESLEY.    m 


BY   AUGUSTUS  TOPLADY,  A.  B. 

VICAR  OF  BROAD-HEMBURY,  DEVOX. 

NEW-YORK  > 

PUBLISHED  BY  GEO  .GE  LINDSAY. 
Taul  &  Thomas,  PrintCTi, 

1811. 


!  Xfcfcf  Julie*.  I 


♦  ♦**■ 


+  * 


CONTENTS. 


Recommendatory  Preface,  containing  a 
short  history  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of 
Arminianism       *-  •  •  • 5 

A  Short  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  Augustus 

Toplady »  15 

Toplady's  Preface. — General  observations, 
concerning    Predestination,     Providence, 

and  Fate 23 

Life  of  Zanchy 47 

Introductory  View  of  the  Divine  Attributes  69 

CHAP.  I.  Explanation  of  Terms     ....  107 

II.  Of  Predestination  at  large    ...  117 

III.  Of    Election  in  particular     .  .  129 

IV.  Of  Reprobation 140 

V.  On  the  Preaching  of  these  Doc- 
trines       162 

Short  Dissertation  concerning  Fate     ....  200 

Caveat  against  Unsound  Doctrines      ....  209 

A  Letter  to  the  Rev.  John  Wesley     ....  267 


■j 


RECOMMENDATORY  PREFACE, 


— *>*«- 


■OF  all  the  devices  formed  by  Satan,  and  em- 
ployed to  sully  the  glory  of  divine  truth,  that 
which  is  now  commonly  called  Arminianism,  is 
the  most  ancient,  the  most  dangerous,  and  the 
most  successful.  Since  the  fall  of  man,  it  has 
existed  in  the  world,  in  every  age  and  in  every 
country.  It  may  be  called  the  religion  cf  our 
fallen  nature ;  and  will  never  want  friends  and 
advocates  on  earth,  so  long  as  the  spirit  of  error 
and  the  corrupt  heart  are  permitted  to  exert  their 
wicked  influence.  It  is  a  system  of  principles, 
stated  in  direct  opposition  to  the  sovereignty  of 
God,  displayed  in  the  distribution  of  his  favours 
among  men  ;  and  is  utterly  eversiye  of  the  whole 
plan  of  grace  revealed  in  the  gospel.  It  proclaims 
open  war  against  the  essential  prerogative  of  Deity 
— his  absolute  right  of  determining  the  final  state 
1 


6  RECOMMENDATORY  PREFACE. 

of  rational  beings,  considered  as  guilty  and  fallen  ; 
and  makes  the  divine  purpose  entirely  dependent 
on  the  creature's  will.  The  great  God  is  impi- 
ously dethroned,  that  the  vile  idol  of  free  will 
may  be  exalted  in  his  room.  The  proud  usurper, 
being  seated  on  the  throne,  dares  to  arraign  at 
his  bar,  every  thing  human  and  divine  ;  and  pre- 
sumes to  judge,  approve,  or  condemn  every  arti- 
cle of  the  divine  testimony,  and  every  piece  of 
divine  conduct,  as  they  appear  right  or  wrong  to 
the  corrupt  heart — the  depraved  will. 

This  is  a  system  founded  in  ignorance,  sup- 
ported by  pride,  fraught  with  atheism,  and  will 
end  in  delusion.  But  it  is  well  calculated  to  gain 
general  consent  among  all  who  were  never  tho- 
roughly convinced  of  the  evil  of  sin,  nor  felt  the 
burden  of  guilt  pressing  their  consciences  ;  nor 
have  seen  the  purity  of  the  divine  law,  their  own 
lost  and  helpless  state,  and  the  absolute  necessity 
of  Christ's  righteousness  for  justification  and 
eternal  life.  The  carnal  heart  is  naturally  proud, 
and  regards,  with  fond  attention,  whatever  tends 
to  flatter  its  vanity  and  self-importance.  Such  is 
the  palpable  tendency  of  the  Arminianism  scheme. 
It  gently  whispers  us  in  the  ear,  that,  even  in  a 
fallen  state,  we  retain  both  the  will  and  the  power 
of  doing  what  is  good  and  acceptable  to  God  : — 
that  Christ's  death  is  accepted  by  God  as  an 
universal  atonement  for  the  sins  of  all  men  ;  in 
order  that  every  one  may,  if  he  will,  save  himself 
by  his  own  free  will,  and  good  works  : — that,  in 


RECOMMENDATORY  PREFACE.  7 

the  exercise  of  our  natural  powers,  we  may  arrive 
at  perfection  even  in  the  present  life,  &c.  These, 
and  the  like  unscriptural  tenets,  are  so  much 
adapted  to  the  legal  bias  of  the  corrupt  heart,  that 
we  need  no  t  wonder  at  the  favourable  reception  they 
have  met  with  in  every  period  of  the  church. 

If  we  consult  the  history  of  past  ages,  it  will  be 
found,  that  this  set  of  corrupt  principles  has  al- 
ways occupied  a  chief  place  in  the  faith  and  pro- 
fession of  corrupt  churches.  In  the  latter  times 
of  the  Jewish  church,  the  body  of  that  people 
were  so  strongly  attached  to  this  legal  scheme, 
that  they  utterly  rejected  Christ  and  his  righte- 
ousness, and  went  about  to  establish  a  righteous- 
ness of  their  own.  The  gospel  church  was  no 
sooner  planted,  than  the  spirit  of  error  began  to 
work.  The  Arminian  leaven  in  the  heart  was 
set  a  working  by  the  Arminian  or  Judaizing 
teachers  of  those  days,  which  produced  such  a 
strong  fermentation  in  some  churches,  that  they 
seem  to  have  almost  entirely  departed  from  the 
faith.  Of  this  melancholy  change  the  church  of 
Galatia  presents  an  affecting  instance.  The  apos- 
tles and  other  ministers  of  Christ,  by  their  ser- 
mons, their  disputations,  and  writings,  laboured 

ird  to  stem  the  torrent,  and  prevent  the  infection 
from  spreading  through  the  church  :  But  alas, 
this  mystery  of  iniquity  continued  to  work, 
through  the  fostering  care  of  the  father  of  lies, 
and  by  the  craft  and  assiduity  of  his  numerous 
emissaries.   During  the  three  first  centuries  of  the 


8  RECOMMENDATORY  PREFACE* 

Christian  church,  it  was  continually  on  the  in- 
crease ;  and,  about  the  beginning  of  the  fourth,  it 
broke  out  with  open  violence  under  the  name  of 
the  Arian  heresy. 

This  was  little  else  but  a  new  name  clapt  upon 
an  old  mass  of  error,  which  had  been  lying  in  de- 
tached fragments,  up  and  down  in  the  Christian 
world  from  the  beginning.  By  Arius  they  were 
all  gathered  up  and  artfully  formed  into  one  com- 
plete system  of  falsehood  and  blasphemy.  His 
opposition  was  chiefly  directed  against  the  doc- 
trines of  Christ's  Eternal  Sonship — of  his  co-es- 
sentiality and  co-equality  with  the  Father  :  but 
his  system  included  in  its  bosom  the  very  essence 
of  the  Socinian  and  Arminian  errors. 

In  the  year  of  our  Lord  325,  the  pastors  of 
the  church  assembled  in  a  general  council  at 
Nice,  in  Bythinia,  to  concert  measures  for  check- 
ing the  spreading  infection.  They  drew  up  that 
admirable  form  of  sound  words,  called  the  Ni- 
cene  Creed,  or  Confession  of  Faith.  It  was 
subscribed  by  all  present;  and  even  by  Arius 
himself,  that  temporizing  arch-heretic ;  merely 
to  serve  a  present  turn,  and  with  a  fixed  design 
of  throwing  off  the  mask  as  soon  as  a  favourable 
opportunity  should  offer.  In  a  few  years  he 
openly  retracted ;  and,  gaining  the  ear  of  the 
Roman  emperor,  he  filled  the  church  with  tumult 
and  blood,  and  attempted  to  banish  truth,  and 
exterminate  its  professors  from  the  earth. 

The  spirit  of  error  and  delusion  seemed  to  be 
let  loose  from  all  restraint.     Multitudes  of  new 


RECOMMENDATORY   PREFACE.  9 

heresies  suddenly  sprung  up  in  almost  every 
corner  of  the  church.  Pelagius,  a  British  monk, 
in  the  beginning  of  the  5th  century,  appeared  on 
the  stage  to  plead  the  cause  of  error  and  decry 
the  doctrines  of  grace.  The  Scripture  doctrine 
of  absolute  and  unconditional  Predestination  he 
boldly  denied— asserting  that  God  was  directed 
in  determining  the  final  state  of  sinful  men  by 
his  foreknowledge  of  human  actions — Original 
Sin,  both  imputed  and  inherent,  he  counted  a 
mere  figment— He  maintained  the  modern  Armi- 
nian  tenet  of  Free  Will  in  its  utmost  extent  j  af- 
firming that  a  man  retains  full  power  to  chuse 
what  is  good,  and  to  do  what  is  well-pleasing  to 
God,  without  any  supernatural  aid— That  men  I 
in  the  present  state  may  attain  sinless  perfection, 
if  they  only  suitably  improve  their  natural 
powers  and  the  common  means  of  grace — That 
Justification  before  God  is  by  works,  and  not  by 
faith  in  the  righteousness  of  Christ. 

This  many-headed  monster  was  hatched  long 
before  the  days  of  Pelagius  ;  but  never  till  then 
did  it  assume  an  aspect  so  alarming  and  formida- 
ble. Its  venom  soon  overspread  the  whole  con- 
tinent of  Europe,  and  reached  the  British  Isle. 
As  every  poison  has  its  antidote,  so  the  cause  of 
truth  did  not  then  want  many  noble  champions, 
who  stood  up  in  its  defence.  Among  others  the 
Lord  raised  up  the  justly  celebrated  Austin,  who, 
with  a  bold  asid  well  directed  stroke,  cut  off  this 

Hvdra's  head.     But  the  deadly  infection  had  al~ 
1  * 


10  RECOMMENDATORY  PREFACE. 

ready  spread  too  wide  to  be  easily  cured.  It 
lurked  in  the  bowels  of  a  corrupt  and  apostati- 
zing church,  until  it  made  its  way  to  the  papal 
chair  gained  the  consent  of  general  councils, 
and  became  the  avowed  creed  of  the  antichristian 
church. 

At   the  commencement  of   the  protestant  re- 
formation, the  standard  was  again  lifted  up  in  de- 
fence of  the  doctrines  of  grace.     The  scriptures, 
which  for  many  ages  had  lain  concealed   in  the 
musty  cabinet  of  dead  languages,  were  now  trans- 
lated   into  the  vulgar  tongue  of  •  every  country 
where  the  reformation  got  footing.     The  inven- 
tion of  printing  greatly  accelerated  the  diffusion 
of  knowledge  ;  and  the  writings  of  the  ancient 
fathers,    particularly    of    Austin,   were    eagerly 
sought  after,  carefully  read,  and  publicly  taught 
by  the  most  illustrious  reformers,   such  as,  Cal- 
vin, Luther,  Zulinglius,  Bucer,  Melancthori,  Zan- 
chius,  and  others.    Men  were  filled  with  astonish- 
ment of  their  former  ignorance  and  infatuation. 
Satan  fell,  as  lightning  from  heaven,  before  the 
preaching  of  the  everlasting  gospel.     His  king- 
dom  was  full  of  darkness  ;  but  his  heart  burned 
with  rage,  and  he  set  ever^f  engine  to  work  to 
prevent  the  total  ruin  of  his^iterest  and  empire. 
He  moved  earth  and  hell  a^Kist  the  witnesses  of 
Christ,  and  the  earth  was  soaked  with  the  blood 
of  the  saints.     But  truth  prevailed  over  all  the 
fury  of  persecution. 

The  old  and  more  successful  method  of  oppo- 
sing the  cause  of  God  was  then  tried.     Floods 


RECOMMENDATORY   PREFACE.  11 

of  error  broke  in  upon  the  church.  Socinus,  a 
man  of  great  cunning  and  considerable  learning, 
sent  abroad  a  new  edition  of  the  old  Avian  here- 
sy, with  additional  strokes  of  bold  blasphemy. 
After  him  arose  Arminiusy  in  Holland,  who  re- 
vived in  a  new  dress  the  old  Pelagian  heresy. 
It  caused  great  convulsions  in  the  seven  United 
Provinces  ;  and  occasioned  the  meeting  of  the 
famous  Synod  of  Dort,  at  which  the  errors  of 
Arminius  and  his  party  were  solemnly  tried,  and 
condemned.  But  the  old  leaven  continued  still 
to  ferment  in  the  bowels  of  the  church.  It  stole 
into  Britain  about  the  beginning  of  the  last  cen- 
tury ;  but  dared  not  openly  to  shew  its  blotched  . 
face,  until  Archbishop  Laud  introduced  it  to  J 
court,  and  made  it  the  Shibboleth  of  his  party.  ' 
The  execution  of  that  haughty  and  arbitrary 
prelate,  with  the  dispersion  of  his  powerful  fac- 
tion, had  nearly  cleared  the  island  of  the  Armi- 
nian  plague  :  when  lo,  a  second  inundation  broke 
in  upon  the  land,  at  the  restoration  of  king 
Charles  II.  By  his  debauched  court,  every  thing 
serious  was  treated  with  buffoonery  and  scorn ; 
but,  because  the  Arminian  clergy  were  found 
more  pliant  tools  for  the  ruling  party;  divines 
of  this  stamp  were  generally  preferred  to  the 
more  considerable  ecclesiastical  benefices.  Lug- 
land  was  soon  overrun  with  Arminianism,  and 
the  old-fashioned  doctrines  of  grace  were  every 
where  run  down  as  gross  fanaticism,  and  their 
abettors  stigmatized  with  the  name  of  enthusi- 
asts. 


12  RECOMMENDATORY   PREFACE* 

The  noxious  weed  was  openly  transplanted 
into  our  Scotch  soil  after  the  restoration  ;  when 
our  Presbyterian  pulpits  were  invaded  and  forci- 
bly seized  by  an  army  of  curates  of  the  corrupt 
communion  of  the  Church  of  England.  The 
prejatical  form  of  church  government  was  in- 
deed pulled  down  in  North  Britain,  at  the  revo- 
lution :  but  not  a  few  of  the  episcopal  incum- 
bents were  continued  in  their  charges,  and  em- 
bodied into  our  national  church,  upon  very  gene- 
ral and  equivocal  terms.  From  this  impure 
source  has  sprung  much  of  that  corruption  of 
doctrine  which  now   overspreads  the  whole  land. 

Deism,  or  absolute  Scepticism  seem,  in  the 
present  day,  to  be  the  prevailing  and  fashionable 
creed  among  many  who  move  in  the  higher 
spheres  of  life.  Socinianism  has  of  late  years 
made  very  rapid  progress  among  professors  of 
different  descriptions.  But  Arminianism  of  all 
others,  is  the  most  prevalent ;  and  may  be  styled 
the  vulgar  error.  It  comes  soliciting  our  ac- 
ceptance with  all  the  false  charms  of  a  harlot, 
decked  out  in  such  captivating  colours,  as  too 
well  suit  the  vitiated  and  depraved  taste  of  cor- 
rupt nature.  It  finds  an  advocate  in  every  man's 
bosom.  Its  cause  is  pleaded  by  all  the  strength 
and  subtlety  of  carnal  reason. 

As  a  seasonable  antidote  against  this  growing 
evil,  the  following  short  treatise  and  sermon  are 
sent  abroad,  warmly  recommended  to  the  atten- 
tion of  the  public.     Many  volumes  have  been 


RECOMMENDATORY  PREFACE.  13 

wrote,  on  the  Arminian  controversy  :  but  I  have 
met  with  nothing  that  more  completely,  and  in 
so  concise  a  manner,  cuts  it  up  by  the  roots. 
This  valuable  translation  of  Zanchy  on  predes- 
tination, came  into  my  hands  about  two  years 
ago,  with  some  other  pieces  of  Mr.  Tcpladifs 
own  works.  The  manly  boldness  of  the  learned 
translator  and  author,  his  fervent  zeal  for  purity 
of  gospel  doctrine,  and  his  masterly  way  of  dis- 
secting and  exposing  error  very  much  struck  and 
pleased  me.*  I  felt  much  regret  that  his  wri- 
tings should  be  so  little  known  in  Scotland, 
whefe  they  are  so  much  needed.  To  have  re- 
published all  his  works  would  have  required  se- 
veral volumes,  and,  consequently  put  it  out  of 
the  reach  of  the  poor  to  become  acquainted  with 
them.  Besides,  they  are  not  all  equally  adapted 
to  general  edification.  Some  of  them  are  pro- 
fessedly composed  for  the  meridian  of  England  ; 
and  directly  pointed  against  the  reigning  errors 
of  the  English  clergy.  The  two  pieces  selected 
are  no  less  suited  to  the  state  of  matters  on  this, 
than  on  the  other  side  of  the  Tweed.  This 
edition  is  chiefly  intended  for  the  accommodation 
of  such  as  are  in  narrow  worldly  circumstances, 


*  The  greatest  men  have  their  peculiarities,  their  favour- 
ite modes  of  expression,  and  are  liable  to  be  mistaken  in 
some  things.  The  admirable  Augustus  Toplady,  with  all 
his  excellencies,  is  not  an  unexceptionable  author,  either  as 
to  matter  or  m  inner.  But  where  shall  we  find  such  among 
uninspired  men  ?  Jlumanum  est  errare. 


14  RECOMMENDATORY  PREFACE, 

and  can  spare  very  little  for  the  purchase  of 
books.  It  is  put  into  circulation  at  one  fourth  of 
the  original  cost  of  the  London  edition.  May 
the  Divine  Spirit  make  it  extensively  useful  for 
convincing  and  reclaiming  the  erroneous,  and  for 
comforting  and  confirming  all  the  true  friends  of 
the,  precious  doctrines  of  grace,  through  the 
churches  of  Christ. 

ALEXANDER  PRINGLE. 

PERTH, 
Nov.  9,  1793- 


A 

SHORT    SKETCH 

OF  THE  LIFE  AA'D  CHARACTER 


AUGUSTUS  MONTAGUE  TOPLADY, 

RECTOR  OF  BROAD-HEMBURY,  DEVON. 


31 R.  Toplady*  was  second  son  to  Richard 
Toplady,  Esq.  a  major  in  the  army.  He  was 
born  at  Farnham,  in  Surrey,  on  Tuesday,  the 
4th  of  November,  1 740.  The  first  rudiments  of 
his  education  he  received  at  Westminster  School. 
He  very  early  discovered  an  uncommon  vigour 
of  mind,  and  made  proficiency  in  the  languages 
much  beyond  most  of  his  contemporaries.  He 
used  to  employ  his  by-hours,  while  at  the  gram- 
mar-school, in  writing  exercises  for  such  idle  or 
dissipated  young  nobility  as  either  could  not,  or 
would  not  write  them  themselves.  By  this  means 
he  sometimes  gained  three  or  four  shillings  a  day. 


*  The  substance  of  this  short  account  of  Mr.  Toplady's 
life  is  taken  from  the  Christian's  Magazine,  for  January, 
1791,  with  some  additions  and  alterations. 


16  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF 

After  his  father's  death,  his  mother  (having 
some  claims  upon  an  Irish  estate)  took  him  with 
her  into  that  kingdom  ;  and  entered  him  a  stu- 
dent in  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  where  he  soon 
took  his  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  He  was  an 
indefatigable  student  in  every  branch  of  literature 
and  science ;  but,  as  he  very  early  devoted  him- 
self to  the  service  of  Christ  in  the  church,  he 
chiefly  cultivated  those  studies  which  were  best 
calculated  to  make  him  (through  the  divine  bles- 
sing) an  able  minister  of  the  New  Testament. 
He  took  much  pains  to  render  himself  a  profici- 
ent in  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  languages,  that  he 
might  be  qualified  to  read  and  study  the  scrip- 
tures of  truth  in  their  sacred  originals.  His 
writings  abundantly  shew  that  he  was,  in  a  high 
degree,  master  of  them  both. 

About  the  15th  year  of  his  age,  it  pleased  God 
to  bring  him  under  awakenings  of  conscience,  on 
account  of  the  guilt  and  miseiy  of  his  natural 
state  ;  and  to  shew  him  his  absolute  need  of  Christ. 
He  was  a  considerable  time  in  great  perplexity 
and  doubt  between  the  Armrnian  and  Cahinistic 
schemes.  He  read  with  avidity  many  books  on 
each  side.  At  last  a  kind  of  Providence  brought 
in  his  way  Dr.  Manton  on  the  17th  of  John: 
which  was  made  the  happy  mean  of  giving  his 
strong  Arminian  prejudices  the  first  effectual 
blow.  By  the  time  he  arrived  at  his  1 8th  year, 
he  had  (through  the  Spirit's  supernatural  teach- 
ing) attained  a  clear  and  settled  belief  of  the  doc- 
trines of  grace  ;  and  continued  to  the  day  of  his 


AUGUSTUS  MONTAGUE  TOPLADY.         17 

death  a  bold  and  determined  enemy  to  the  Armi- 
nian  heresy.  He  used  often  to  say  among  his  in- 
timates, "that  he  should,  when  in  heaven,  re- 
member the  year  1758,  (the  18th  of  his  age)  with 
gratitude  and  joy. 

He  entered  into  orders  on  Trinity  Sunday,  the 
6th  of  June,  1762.  He  was  soon  after  inducted 
into  the  living  of  Blagdon,  in  Somersetshire,  and 
afterwards  into  that  of  Broad-Hembury,  in  De- 
vonshire. In  both  charges  he  shewed  himself  an 
able,  faithful,  and  zealous  servant  of  Christ ;  "  a 
labourer  that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed ;  rightly 
dividing  the  word  of  truth."  It  was  during  his 
residence  at  Broad-Hembury  that  he  composed 
the  greater  part  of  those  valuable  works,  which 
will  perpetuate  and  endear  his  memory  to  all  the 
friends  of  truth  through  succeeding  ages.  He 
occasionally  visited  London,  and  soon  contracted 
an  intimacy  with  an  extensive  circle  of  friends 
there.  The  lustre  of  his  pulpit  talents  could  not 
be  hid.  He  was  much  followed,  and  much  ad- 
mired. Three  years  before  his  death  his  health 
began  to  be  much  impaired  by  close  study  and 
excessive  application.  He  began  to  apprehend 
that  the  air  of  Devon  was  too  moist  for  one  of 
his  delicate  constitution.  By  the  advice  of  friends 
he  removed  to  London  in  the  year  1775.  But 
he  had  not  well  arrived,  when  he  was  earnestly 
solicited  by  his  numerous  friends,  to  engage  to 
preach  in  the  chapel  belonging  to  the  French  Re- 
formed, in  Leicester  Fields.  Their  pressing  im- 
portunities, and  an  ardent  desire  of  being  useful 
2 


18  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF 

to  immortal  souls,  prevailed  over  every  other  con- 
sideration. For  a  short  time  he  statedly  supplied 
that  charge.  But  intense  application  to  study,  and 
late  sitting,  soon  wasted  his  remaining  strength, 
and  accelerated  the  premature  end  of  his  minis- 
try and  labours.  He  fell  into  a  consumption, 
and  entered  into  his  Master's  joy  on  the  11th  of 
August,  17T8,  the  38th  year  of  his  life,  and  the 
16th  of  his  ministry. 

His  bodily  frame  seems  to  have  been  rather 
tall  and  slender ;  and  his  natural  temper  extreme- 
ly keen  and  boisterous.  Impatient  of  contradic- 
tion, he  was  in  the  heat  of  disputation,  apt  to  be 
hurried  on  by  the  mere  impetuosity  of  his  pas- 
sions, to  a  degree  of  warmth  bordering  on  dic- 
tatorial insolence. 

His  mind  was  endowed  with  vast  powers  of 
conception.  His  understanding  was  clear  and 
capacious,  his  judgment  solid  and  correct,  his 
imagination  lively,  and  his  invention  uncommon- 
ly prompt  and  fertile.  His  great  natural  powers 
were  much  improved  by  a  liberal  education  and 
close  study.  His  early  acquaintance  with  the  power 
of  religion  induced  him  to  delight  much  in  the  stu- 
dy of  the  scriptures.  He  soon  acquired,  under 
divine  influence,  a  very  accurate  and  extensive 
knowledge  of  the  word  of  God.  In  his  public 
labours  he  eminently  deserved  the  noble  charac- 
ter of  Apollos,  "  A  man  mighty  in  the  scrip- 
tures." His  writings  clearly  show  his  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  ancient  fathers  and  sys- 
tematic writers.     He  seems  to  have  inherited  a 


AUGUSTUS  MONTAGUE  .TOPLADY.        19 

large  portion  of  the  zeal  and  spirit  of  Austin  and 
Broadwardin  :  and,  like  them  too,  to  have  bent 
the  whole  force  of  his  genius  against  the  Pelagian 
and  Arminian  heresies.  The  narrow  escape  which, 
through  the  grace  of  God,  he  made,  from  being 
entangled  in  the  fascinating  toils  of  Arminianism 
might,  perhaps,  determine  him  the  more  to  embrace 
every  opportunity  of  exposing  the  danger  to  others. 
Being  born  and  educated  in  the  bosom  of  a  church 
wrhich  was  overrun  with  this  error,  he  boldly  stood 
forth  as  a  resolute  defender  of  the  doctrines  of 
grace,  from  both  pulpit  and  press.  Arminians 
of  every  denomination  smarted  under  his  lash. 
This  error  seems  to  have  been  his  favourite  game; 
and,  whenever  it  started,  he  followed  the  chace 
until  he  run  it  down.  So  fully  was  he  versed  in 
this  controversy,  that  he  never  seems  more  mas- 
ter of  his  subject  than  when  dissecting  and  con- 
futing Arminianism.  Many  a  sore  drubbing  poor 
Mr.  Wesley,  and  his  adherents,  received  from  his 
able  pen.  Upon  the  whole,  he  was  a  burning  and 
shining  light — a  skilful  champion  in  the  cause  of 
God— and  a  lively  and  zealous  Christian.  He 
died  as  he  lived — glorying  only  in  the  cross  of 
Christ,  and  triumphing  in  the  freedom  and  riches 
of  adorable  grace. 

A  little  before  his  death,  a  report  was  in  circu- 
lation, raised  and  industriously  propagated  by 
the  Arminian  faction,  .that  he  had  recanted  those 
Calvinistic  doctrines  which  he  had  all  along  pub- 
licly maintained  with  such  strength  of  argument 
and  warmth  of  zeal.     When  the  false  rumour 


20       THE   LIFE   AND   CHARACTER   OF 

came  to  his  ears,  he  was  filled  with  much  indig- 
nation at  this  weak  and  wicked  effort  of  his  ene- 
mies against  him.  And,  although  he  was  very 
much  weakened  through  long  and  severe  distress, 
yet  he  determined  openly  to  contradict  this  lying 
invention  from  the  pulpit,  and  close  his  minis- 
try by  exhibiting,  an  open  testimony  in  vindica- 
tion of  the  doctrines  of  grace.  With  the  greatest 
fortitude  of  soul  he  executed  his  resolution ;  al- 
though his  voice  was  now  become  so  weak  that 
he  could  not  be  distinctly  heard. 

Speaking  to  a  friend  about  this  matter,  he  said, 
"  My  dear  friend,  these  great  and  glorious  truths 
which  the  Lord,  in  rich  mercy,  has  given  me  to 
believe,  and  which  he  has  enabled  me,  though 
very  feebly,  to  stand  forth  in  the  defence  of,  are 
not  (as  those  who  believe  not,  or  oppose  them  say) 
dry  doctrines,  or  mere  speculative  points — No  : 
but,  being  brought  into  practical  and  heart  expe- 
rience, they  are  the  very  joy  and  support  of  my 
soul :  and  the  consolations  flowing  from  them, 
carry  me  far  above  the  things  of  time  and  sense." 
In  his  last  moments,  he  was  favoured  with  much 
comfortable  experience  of  the  divine  presence ; 
and  finished  his  course  under  a  strong  gale  of 
sensible  assurance.  "  Oh,  what  a  day  of  sunshine 
this  has  been  to  me  !"  (would  he  sometimes  say) 
*'I  want  words  to  express  it — it  is  unutterable. 
Oh  my  friends,  how  good  is  God! — almost  with- 
out interruption,  his  presence  has  been  with  me  ! 
— What  a  great  thing  it  is  to  rejoice  in  death  ! — 
Christ's  love  is  unutterable  !"  Some  passages  of 


AUGUSTUS   MONTAGUE   TOPLADY.        21 

scripture  he  frequently  repeated  ;  and  descanted 
with  peculiar  emotions  of  joy  and  rapture  upon 
the  latter  part  of  Rom.  viii.  When  very  near  the 
end  of  his  conflict,  on  his  awaking  from  a  slum- 
ber, he  cried  out,  "  Oh  what  delights  !  who  can 
fathom  the  joys  of  the  third  heavens  ! — I  cannot 
find  words  to  express  the  comforts  I  feel  in  my 
soul ! — they  are  past  expression.  The  consola- 
tions of  God  to  such  an  unworthy  wretch  are  so 
abundant,  that  he  leaves  me  nothing  to  pray  for 
but  a  continuance  of  them.  I  enjoy  a  heaven  al- 
ready in  my  soul.  My  prayers  are  all  con- 
verted into  praise. — Nevertheless,  I  do  not  for- 
get, that  I  am  still  in  the  body,  and  liable  to  all 
those  distressing  fears  which  are  incident  to  human 
nature,  when  under  temptation,  and  without  any 
sensible  divine  support :  but  so  long  as  the  pre- 
sence of  God  continues  with  me,  in  the  degree  in 
which  I  now  enjoy  it,  I  cannot  but  think  that  such 
a  desponding  frame  is  impossible." 

Within  an  hour  of  his  death  he  called  his 
friends  and  servant,  and  asked  them,  If  they  could 
give  him  up  ?  they  replied  in  the  affirmative,  since 
it  pleased  God  to  be  so  gracious  to  him :  then  said 
he,  "  I  bless  the  Lord  you  are  brought  so  cheer- 
fully to  part  with  me,  and  give  me  up  into  the 
hands  of  my  dear  Redeemer  !  it  will  not  be  long 
when  God  will  take  me  ;  for  no  mortal  man  can 
live,  (bursting  into  tears  of  joy)  after  the  glories 
which  God  has  manifested  to  my  soul."  Soon 
after  this,  he  closed  his  eyes,  and  slept  in  Jesus. 
2  * 


22       THE   LIFE  AND   CHARACTER,   ETC. 

Thus  died  this  great  and  good  man.  May- 
such  striking  displays  of  divine  love  and  sove- 
reign grace  encourage  all  who  truly  believe  in  the 
Lord  Jesus,  to  trust  him  more  confidently,  to 
love  him  more  ardently,  to  follow  him  more  sub- 
missively, and  to  serve  him  more  zealously;  in 
the  well-grounded  hope,  that  they  too,  in  the  end, 
shall  find  death  prove  their  unspeakable  gain. 


PREFACE. 


—^j»i73». — 


WHEN  I  consider  the  absolute  independency 
of  God,  and  the  necessary,  total  dependence  of  all 
created  things  on  him  their  first  cause  ;  I  cannot 
help  standing  astonished  at  the  pride  of  impotent, 
degenerate  man,  who  is  so  prone  to  consider 
himself  as  a  being  possessed  of  sovereign  freedom, 
and  invested  with  a  power  of  self-salvation  ;  able, 
he  imagines,  to  counteract  the  designs  even  of  In- 
finite Wisdom,  and  to  defeat  the  agency  of  Omni- 
potence itself.  Ye  shall  be  as  gods,  said  the 
tempter,  to  Eve,  in  Paradise  :  and  ye  are  as 
gods,  says  the  same  tempter  now,  to  her  apostate 
sons. — One  would  be  apt  to  think,  that  a  sugges- 
tion so  demonstrably  false  and  flattering,  a  sug- 
gestion the  very*  reverse  of  what  we  feel  to  be 
our  state ;  a  suggestion,  alike  contrary  to  scrip- 
ture and  reason,  to  fact  and  experience  ;  could 
never  meet  with  the  smallest  degree  of  credit. 
And  yet,  because  it  so  exactly  coincides  with 
the  natural  haughtiness  of  the  human  heart;  men 
not  only  admit,  but  even  relish  the  deception, 
and  fondly  incline  to  believe  that  the  father  of 
lies  does,  in  this  instance  at  least,  speak  truth. 


24  PREFACE. 

The  scripture-doctrine  of  predetermination, 
lays  the  axe  to  the  very  root  of  this  potent  delusion. 
It  assures  us,  that  all  things  are  of  God.  That 
all  our  times,  and  all  events,  are  in  his  hand. 
Consequently,  that  man's  business  below  is  to  fill 
up  the  departments,  and  to  discharge  the  several 
offices,  assigned  him  in  God's  purpose,  from  ever- 
lasting :  and  that,  having  lived  his  appointed  time, 
and  finished  his  allotted  course  of  action  and  suf- 
fering, he  that  moment  quits  the  stage  of  terres- 
trial life,  and  removes  to  the  invisible  state. 

The  late  deservedly  celebrated  Dr.  Young> 
though  he  affected  great  opposition  to  some  of 
the  doctrines  called  Calvinistic ;  was  yet  compel- 
led, by  the  force  of  truth,  to  acknowledge,  that 
"  There  is  not  a  fly  but  has  had  infinite  wisdom 
concerned,  not  only  in  its  structure,  but  in  its 
destination."*  Nor  did  the  late  learned  and  ex- 
cellent Bishop  Hopkins  go  a  jot  too  far,  in  assert- 
ing as  follows  :  "  A  sparrow,  whose  price  is  but 
mean,  two  of  them  valued  at  a  farthing  (which 
some  make  to  be  the  10th  part  of  a  Roman  penny, 
and  was  certainly  one  of  their  least  coins,)  and 
whose  life,  therefore,  is  but  contemptible,  and 
whose  flight  seems  giddy  and  at  random  ;  yet  it 
falls  not  to  the  ground,  neither  lights  any  where, 
without  your  Father.  His  all-wise  Providence 
hath  before  appointed  what  bough  it  shall  pitch 
on ;  what  grains  it  shall  pick  up  :  where  it  shall 


Centaur  not  Fabulous,  Letter  II 


PREFACE.  2$ 

lodge,  and  where  it  shall  build  ;  on  what  it  shall 
live,  and  when  it  shall  die. — Our  Saviour  adds, 
The  very  hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numbered. 
God  keeps  an  account,  even  of  that  stringy  ex- 
crescence.— Do  you  see  a  thousand  little  motes 
and  atoms  wandering  up  and  down  in  a  sun- 
beam ?  It  is  God  that  so  peoples  it ;  and  he 
guides  their  innumerable  and  irregular  strayings. 
Not  a  dust  rises  in  a  beaten  road ;  but  God 
raiseth  it,  conducts  its  uncertain  motion,  and, 
by  his  particular  care,  conveys  it  to  the  certain 
place  he  had  before  appointed  for  it :  nor  shall 
the  most  fierce  and  tempestuous  wind  hurry  it  any 
farther.— Nothing  comes  to  pass  but  God  hath 
his  ends  in  it,  and  will  certainly  make  his  own 
ends  out  of  it.  Though  the  world  seem  to  run 
at  random,  and  affairs  to  be  huddled  together  in 
blind  confusion  and  rude  disorder ;  yet  God 
sees  and  kn^ws  the  concatenation  of  all  causes 
and  effects,  a  I  so  governs  them,  that  he  makes  a 
perfect  harmc  y  out  of  all  those  seeming  jarrings 
and  discords. — It  is  most  necessary,  that  we 
should  have  our  hearts  well  established  in  the 
firm  and  unwavering  belief  of  this  truth  ;  That 
whatsoever  comes  to  pass,  be  it  good  or  evil,  we 
may  look  up  to  the  hand  and  disposal  of  all,  to 
God — In  respect  of  God,  there  is  nothing  casual, 
nor  contingent,  in  the  world.  If  a  master  should 
send  a  servant  to  a  certain  place,  and  command 
him  to  stay  there  till  such  a  time  ;  and,  presently 
after,  should  send  another  servant  to  the  same 
[place  ;]  the  meeting  of  these  two  is  wholly  cast* 


26  PREFACE. 

al  in  respect  of  themselves,  but  ordained  and  fore* 
seen  by  the  master  who  sent  them.  So  it  is  in 
all  fortuitous  events  here  below.  They  fall  out 
unexpectedly  as  to  us ;  but  not  so  as  to  God. 
He  foresees,  and  he  appoints  all  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  things."* 

To  illustrate  this  momentous  doctrine,  especial- 
ly so  far  as  God's  sovereign  distribution  of  grace 
and  glory  is  concerned,  was  the  chief  motive 
that  determined  me  to  the  present  publication.  In 
perusing  the  works  of  that  most  learned  and 
evangelical  divine,  one  of  whose  performances 
now  appears  in  an  English  dress ;  I  was  particu- 
larly taken  with  that  part  of  his  Confession  of 
Faith  (presented  A.  D.  1562,  to  the  Senate  of 
Strasburgh,)  which  relates  to  Predestination.  It 
is,  from  beginning  to  end,  a  regular  chain  of  solid 
argument,  deduced  from  the  unerring  word  of 
divine  revelation,  and  confirmed  by  the  co-inci- 
dent testimonies  of  some  of  the  greatest  lights 
that  ever  shone  in  the  Christian  church.  Such 
were  Austin,  Luther,  Bucer.  Names  that  will 
be  precious  and  venerable  as  long  as  true  reli- 
gion has  a  friend  remaining  upon  earth. 

Excellent  as  Zanchifs  original  piece  is,  I  yet 
have  occasionally  ventured  both  to  retrench  and 
to  erllarge  it,  in  the  translation.  To  this  liberty 
I  was  induced,  by  a  desire  of  rendering  it  as  com- 
plete a  treatise  on  the  subject  as  the  allotted  com- 


*  Sermon  upon  Providence ;  from  Matth.  x.  29,  3C1 


PREFACE.  27 

pass  would  allow.  I  have  endeavoured  rather 
to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the  admirable  author; 
than  with  a  scrupulous  exactness  to  retail  his 
very  words.  By  which  means  the  performance 
will  prove,  I  humbly  trust,  the  more  satisfactory 
to  the  English  reader ;  and,  for  the  learned  one, 
he  can  at  any  time,  if  he  pleases,  by  comparing  the 
following  version  with  the  original  Latin,  both 
perceive  wherein  I  have  presumed  to  vary  from 
it ;  and  judge  for  himself  whether  my  omissions, 
variations,  and  enlargements,  are  useful  and  just. 

The  Arminiaus  (I  know  not,  whether  through 
ignorance,  or  to  serve  a  turn)  affect  at  present  to 
give  out,  That  Luther  and  Calvin  were  not  agreed 
in  the  article  of  Predestination.  A  more  palpa- 
ble mistake  was  never  advanced.  So  far  is  it 
from  being  true,  that  Luther  (as  I  can  easily 
prove,  if  called  to  it)  went  as  heartily  into  that 
doctrine  as  Calvin  himself.  He  even  asserted  it 
with  much  more  warmth,  and  proceeded  to  much 
harsher  lengths  in  defending  it,  than  Calvin  ever 
did,  or  any  other  writer  I  have  met  with  of  that 
age.  In  the  following  performance,  I  have  for 
the  most  part,  carefully  retained  Zanchy's  quota- 
tions from  Luther  ;  that  the  reader,  from  the 
sample  there  given,  might  form  a  just  idea  of 
Luther's  real  sentiments  concerning  the  points  in 
question. 

Never  was  a  publication  of  this  kind  more  sea- 
sonable than  at  present.  Arminianism  is  the 
grand  religious  evil  of  this  age  and  country.  It 
has  more  or  less  infected  every  protestant  denp- 


28  PREPACK. 

minatioa  amongst  us,  and  bids  fair  for  leaving  us, 
in  a  short  time,  not  so  much  as  the  very  profes- 
sion of  godliness.  The  power  of  Christianity  has, 
for  the  most  part,  taken  its  flight  long  ago  ;  and 
even  the  form  of  it  seems  to  be  on  the  point  of 
bidding  us  farewell.  Time  has  been  when  the 
Calvinistic  doctrines  were  considered  and  defend- 
ed as  the  palladium  of  our  established  church,  by 
her  bishops  and  clergy ;  by  the  universities,  and 
the  whole  body  of  the  laity.  It  was  (during  the 
reigns  of  Edward  VI.  Queen  Elizabeth,  James 
I.  and  the  greater  part  of  Charles  I.  as  difficult 
to  meet  with  a  clergyman,  who  did  not  preach  the 
doctrines  of  the  church  of  England,  as  it  is  now 
to  find  one  wTho  does. — We  have  generally  forsa- 
ken the  principles  of  the  reformation ;  and  Icha- 
bod,  or  Thy  glory  is  departed,  has  been  written 
on  most  of  our  pulpits  and  church-doors  ever 
since. 

u  Thou,  O  God,  hast  brought  a  Vine  out  of 
E  gvpt ;  thou  hast  cast  out  the  heathen,  and  plant- 
ed it. 

"  Thou  preparedst  room  before  it,  and  didst 
cause  it  to  take  deep  root ;  and  it  filled  the  land. 

"  The  hills  were  covered  with  the  shadow  of  it, 
and  the  boughs  thereof  were  like  the  goodly  ce- 
dars. 

"  She  sent  out  her  boughs  to  the  sea,  and  her 
branches  unto  the  river. 

"  Why  hastthou  then  broken  down  her  hedges, 
so  that  all  they,  who  pass  by  the  way,  do  pluck 
her  ? 


rREFACE.  29 

"  The  boar,  out  of  the  wood,  doth  waste  it ;  and 
the  wild  beast  of  the  field  doth  devour  it. 

"  Return,  we  beseech  thee,  O  God  of  Hosts  ! 
Look  down  from  heaven,  and  behold  and  visit 
this  vine ; 

**  And  the  vineyard,  which  thy  right  hand  hath 
planted  ;  and  the  branch  that  thou  madest  strong 
for  thyself ! 

"So  will  we  not  go  back  from  thee  :  quicken  us, 
and  we  shall  call  upon  thy  name. 

"  Turn  us  again,  O  Lord  God  of  hosts  !  cause 
thy  face  to  shine,  and  we  shall  yet  be  saved." 
Psalm  lxxx. 

Never  was  description  more  strikingly  expres- 
sive of  the  state  our  national  church  is  at  present 
in !  Never  was  supplication  more  pertinently 
adapted  to  the  lips  of  her  genuine  sons  ! 

In  vain  do  we  lament  the  progress  of  Popery  ; 
in  vain  do  we  shut  up  a  few  private  mass-houses ; 
while  our  presses  teem,  and  our  pulpits  ring,  with 
the  Romish  doctrines  of  merit  and  free  xvill : 
doctrines,  whose  native  and  inevitable  tendency 
is,  to  smooth  the  passage  for  our  fuller  coalition 
with  Antichrist.  If  we  are  really  desirous  to 
shun  committing  spiritual  adultery  with  the  mo- 
ther of  harlots  and  abominations,  we  must  with- 
draw our  feet  from  the  way  that  leadeth  to  her 
house. 

Blessed  be  God,   the  doctrines   of  grace   are 

again  beginning  to  lift  up  their  heads  amongst  us  : 

a  sign,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  hath 

not  quite  forsaken  us ;  and  that  cur  redemption, 

3 


30 


PREFACE. 


from  the  the  prevailing  errors  of  the  day,  draw- 
eth  near.  Now,  if  ever,  is  the  time  for  all  who 
love  our  church  and  nation  in  sincerity,  to  lend  an 
helping  hand  to  the  ark  ;  and  contribute,  though 
ever  so  little,  to  its  return. 

The  grand  objection  usually  made  to  that  im- 
portant truth,  which  is  the  main  subject  of  the 
ensuing  sheets,  proceeds  on  a  supposition  of  par- 
tiality in  God,  should  the  Calvinistic  doctrine  be 
admitted — If  this  consequence  did  really  follow, 
I  see  not  how  it  would  authorize  man  to  arraign 
the  conduct  of  Deity.     Should  an  earthly  friend 
make  me  a  present  often  thousand  pounds,  would 
it  not  be  unreasonable,  ungrateful,  and  presump- 
tuous in  me,   to  refuse  the  gift,  and  revile  the 
giver,  only  because  it  might  not  be  his  pleasure 
to  confer  the  same  favour  on  my  next  door  neigh- 
bour ? — In  other  cases,  the  value  of  a  privilege  or 
of  a  profession  is  enhanced  by  its  scarceness.    A 
virtuoso  sets  but  a  little  esteem  on  a  medal,  a 
statue,  or  a  vase,  so  common  that  every  man  who 
pleases   may   have   one  of  the   same    kind  :    he 
prizes   that    alone  as   a  rarity,  which  really  is 
such  ;  and  which  is  not  only  intrinsically  valu- 
able, but  which  lies  in  few  hands. — Were  all  men 
here  upon  earth,  qualified  and  enabled  to  appear 
as  kings,  the  crown,  the  sceptre,  the  robe  of  state, 
and  other  ensigns  of  majesty,  would  presently 
sink  into  things  hardly  noticeable.     The  distin- 
guishing grandeurs  of  royalty,  by  ceasing  to  be 
uncommon  would  quickly  cease  to  be  august  and 
striking.    Upon  this  principle  it  was,  that  Heray 


PREFACE.  31 

IV.  of  France,  said  on  his  birth-day,  "  I  was 
born  as  on  this  day  ;  and,  no  doubt,  taking  the 
world  through,  thousands  were  born  on  the  same 
day  with  me  :  yet,  out  of  all  those  thousands,  I 
am,  perhaps,  the  only  one  whom  God  hath  made 
a  king.  How  signally  am  I  indebted  to  the  pe- 
culiar bounty  of  his  Providence  !" — Similar  are 
the  reflections  and  the  acknowledgments  of  such 
persons  as  are  favoured  with  the  sense  of  their 
election  in  Christ  to  holiness  and  heaven. 

"  But  what  becomes  of  the  non-elect  ?"  You 
have  nothing  to  do  with  such  a  question,  if  you 
find  yourself  embarrassed  and  distressed  by  the 
consideration  of  it.  Bless  God  for  his  electing 
love,  and  leave  him  to  act  as  he  pleases  by  them 
that  are  without.  Simply  acquiesce  in  the  plain 
scripture  account,*  and  wish  to  see  no  farther 
than  revelation  holds  the  lamp.  'Tis  enough  for 
you  to  know,  that  the  Judge  of  the  whole  earth 
will  do  right. — Yet  will  you  reap  much  improve- 
ment from  the  view  of  predestination,  in  its  full 
extent,  if  your  eyes  are  able  steadfastly  to  look  at 
all  which  God  hath  made  known  concerning  it.  But 
if  your  spiritual  sight  is  weak,  forego  the  inquiry, 
so  far  as  reprobation  is  concerned  •  and  be  con- 
tent to  know  but  in  part,  till  death  transmits  you 
to  that  perfect  state,  where  you  shall  knorv  even 
as  you  are  known.  Say  not,  therefore,  as  the  op- 
posers  of  these  doctrines  did  in  St.  Paul's  davs  : 
"  Why  doth  God  find  fault  with  the  wicked  ?  Fof 
who  hath  resisted  his  will  ?  If  he  who  only  can 
convert  them,  refrains  from  doing  it,  what  room 


32  PREFACE, 

is  there  for  blaming  them  that  perish,  seeing  it  & 
impossible  to  resist  the  will  of  the  Almighty  ?" 
Be  satisfied  with  St.  Paul's  answer  :  "  Nay,  but 
who  art  thou,  O  man,  that  repliest  against  God  ?" 
The  apostle  hinges  the  matter  entirely  on  God's 
absolute  sovereignty.  There  he  rests  it;  and 
there  we  ought  to  leave  it.* 

Were  the  whole  of  mankind  equally  loved 
of  God,  and  promiscuously  redeemed  by  Christ, 
the  song  which  believers  are  directed  to  sing 
would  hardly  run  in  these  admiring  strains  :  To 
him  that  hath  loved  us,  and  washed  us  from  our 
sins  in  his  own  blood,  and  hath  made  us  kings 


*  Some  of  the  more  considerate  Heathens  treated  God's 
hidden  will  with  an  adoring  reverence,  which  many  of  our 
modern  Arminians  would  do  well  to  imitate.  Thus  Bicm 
(KXeofr.   xKt  Mvgtr.   10) 

'Tis  not  for  man  to  sit  in  judgment  on  the  actions  of  God. 
So  Theognis  (yv«^-  141,  142.) 

©£««   JV   x«7«  vq>{]n>oi   -act^Tct,  TeXxri   voov. 
We  men  are  foolish  in  our  imagnations,  and  know  nothing: 
But  the  gods  accomplish  all  things  according  to  their  own 
mind. 

And  again,  (Lin.  687,  683.) 

Qvk  eft  B-vtfloin  W£«s  ci6«y«7y?  i4,ct%evctG-S-cci, 

ah   ^;xjjv  er&etv.   yfovi   ralo   B-e/Mt. 
'Tis  not  lawful  for  mortals  to  enter  the  lists  with  the  gods., 

nor  to  bring  in  an  accusation  against  them. 


PREFACE.  33 

and  priests  unto  God,  ckc.  Rev.  i.  5,  6.  An 
hymn  of  praise  like  this,  seems  evidently  to  pro- 
ceed on  the  hypothesis  of  peculiar  election  on  the 
part  of  God,  and  of  a  limited  redemption  on  the 
part  of  Christ ;  which  we  find  still  more  explicitly 
declared,  Rev.  v.  9.  where  we  have  a  transcript 
of  that  song,  which  the  spirits  of  just  men  made 
perfect  are  now  singing  before  the  throne,  and  be- 
fore the  Lamb  :  Thou  wast  slain  and  hast  re- 
deemed us  unto  God  by  thy  blood,  out  of  every 
kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation. 
Whence  the  elect  are  said  to  have  been  redeem- 
ed from  among  men.     Rev.  xiv.  4. 

In  short,  there  is  no  such  thing,  as  casualty, 
or  accident,  even  in  things  of  temporal  concern  ; 
much  less  in  matters  spiritual  and  everlasting.  If 
the  universe  had  a  Maker,  it  must  have  a  Gover- 
nor, and  if  it  has  a  Governor,  his  will  and  Provi- 
dence must  extend  to  all  things,  without  exception. 
For  my  own  part,  I  can  discern  no  medium  between 
absolute  predestination  and  blank  Atheism. 

Mr.  Rollin,*  if  I  mistake  not,  has,  somewhere, 
a  fine  observation  to  this  effect :    That  "  It  is 

*  Since  the  above  was  written,  I  have  met  with  the  fine 
passage  to  which  it  refers.  "  Providence  delights  to  conceal 
its  wonders  under  the  vail  of  human  operations."  Rollin's 
Arts  and  Sciences  of  the  Ancients,  vol.  3  p-  480. 

Mr.  Hervey  has  likewise  a  most  beautiful  and  judicious 
paragraph  to  the  same  effect ;  where,  speaking  of  what  is 
commonly  termed  accidental  death,  this  admirable  writer 
asks  :  "  Was  it  then  a  random  stroke  ?  doubtless,  the  blow 
came  from  an  aiming,  though  invisible  hand.  God  presidetb. 
over  the  armies  of  heaven.  G  o  o  ruleth  among  the  iahahi- 
3   * 


34'  TREFACE. 

usual  with  God,  so  carefully  to  conceal  himself, 
and  to  hide  the  agency  of  his  Providence  behind 
second  causes ;  as  to  render  that  very  often  un- 
discernable  and  undistinguishable  from  these." 
Which  wisdom  of  conduct,  and  gentleness  of 
operation,  (not  less  efficacious,  because  gentle  and 
invisible,)  instead  of  exciting  the  admiration  they 
deserve ;  have,  on  the  contrary,  given  occasion 
to  the  setting  up  of  that  unreal  idol  of  the  brain, 
called  chance.  Whereas,  to  use  the  lovely  lines 
of  our  great  moral  poet, 

All  Nature  is  but  Art  unknown  to  thee ; 

All  Chance,  Direction  which  thou  canst  not  see. 


tants  of  the  earth.  And  God  conducteth  what  men  call 
chance.  Nothing,  nothing  comes  to  pass  through  a  blind 
and  undiscerning  fatality.  If  accidents  happen,  they  happen 
according  to  the  exact  foreknowledge,  and  conformably  to 
the  determinate  counsels  of  eternal  wisdom.  The  Lord, 
with  whom  are  the  issues  of  death,  signs  the  warrant,  and 
gives  the  high  commission.  The  seemingly  fortuitous  disas- 
ter, is  only  the  agent,  or  instrument,  appointed  to  execute  the 
supreme  decree.  When  the  king  of  Israel  was  mortally 
wounded,  it  seemed  to  be  a  casual  shot.— A  certain  man  drew 
a  bow  at  a  venture,  (1  Kings  xxii.  34.)  At  a  venture,  as  he 
thought.  But  his  hand  was  strengthened  by  an  omnipotent 
aid  j  and  the  shaft  levelled  by  an  unerring  eye.  So  that  what 
vie  term  casualty,  is  really  providence  ;  accomplishing 
deliberate  designs,  but  concealing  its  own  interposition.— 
How  comforting  this  reflection !  Admirably  adapted  to  sooth 
the  throbbing  anguish  of  the  mourners,  and  compose  their 
spirits  into  a  quiet  submission  !  Excellently  suited  to  dissi- 
pate the  fears  of  godly  survivors  ;  and  create  a  calm  intre- 
pidity, even  amidst  innumerable  perils  !"— Hervey's  Medita- 
tions, vol.  1.  p.  27,  28. 


PREFACE.  35 

Words  are  only  so  far  valuable,  as  they  are 
the  vehicles  of  meaning.  And  meaning,  or  ideas, 
derive  their  whole  value  from  their  having  some 
foundation  in  reason,  reality,  and  fact.  Was  I, 
therefore,  to  be  concerned  in  drawing  up  an  Ex- 
purgatory  Index  to  language,  I  would,  without 
mercy,  cashier  and  proscribe  such  words  as  chance, 
fortune,  luck,  casualty,  contingency,  and  mishap. 
Nor  unjustly — For  they  are  Voces,  and  praeterea 
nihil.  Mere  terms  without  ideas.  Absolute 
expletives,  which  import  nothing.  Unmeaning 
cyphers,  either  proudly  invented  to  hide  man's 
ignorance  of  real  causes,  or  sacrilegiously  de- 
signed to  rob  the  Deity  of  the  honours  due  to  his 
wisdom,  providence,  and  power. 

Reason  and  Revelation  are  perfect  unisons,  in 
assuring  us,  that  God  is  the  supreme,  indepen- 
dent first  cause  ;  of  whom,  all  secondary  and  in- 
ferior causes  are  no  more  than  the  effects.  Else, 
proper  originality  and  absolute  wisdom,  unlimited 
supremacy  and  almighty  power,,  cease  to  be  at- 
tributes of  Deity. — I  remember  to  have  heard  an 
interesting  anecdote  of  King  William  and  Bishop 
Burnet.  The  Arminian  prelate  affected  to  won- 
der **  how  a  person,  of  his  Majesty's  piety  and 
good  sense,  could  so  rootedly  believe  the  doctrine 
of  absolute  predestination."  The  Royal  Calvin- 
ist  replied — Did  I  not  believe  absolute  predes- 
tination, I  could  not  believe  a  providence.  For, 
it  would  be  most  absurd  to  suppose  that  a  Being 
of  infinite  wisdom  would  act  without  apian  :  for 
which  plan,  predestination  is  only  another  name. 


36  PREFACE. 

What,  indeed,  is  predestination,  but  God's  de- 
terminate plan  of  action  ?  and  what  is  providence, 
but  the  evolution  of  that  plan  ?    In  his  decree, 
God  resolved  within  himself  what  he  would  do, 
and  what  he  would  permit  to  be  done  :   By   his 
providence,    this    effective    and    permissive  will 
passes  into  external  act,  and  has  its  positive  ac- 
complishment.    So  that  the   purpose   of  God,  as 
it  were,  draws  the  out-lines,  and  providence  lays 
on  the  colours.     What  that  designed,  this  com- 
pletes :  what  that  ordained,  this  evecutes.     Pre- 
destination is  analogous  to  the  mind  and  inten- 
tion ;  providence,  to  the  hand  and  agency  of  the 
artificer.     Hence,  we  are  told,  that  God  worketh 
{there's  his  providence']  all  things,  after  the  coun- 
sel of  his  own  will  [there's  his  decree,]  Eph.  i.  11. 
And  again,  he  doth  according  to  his  will,  in 
the  army  of  heaven  and  among  the  inhabitants  of 
the  earth  :  and  none  can  stay  his  hand  [i.  e.  his 
will,  and  the  execution  of  it,  are  irresistible,]  nor 
say  unto  him,  what  dost  thou  ?  i.  e.  his  purpose 
and  providence  are  sovereign,  and  for  which  he 
will  not  be  accountable  to  his  creatures.     Dan. 
iv.  35. 

According,  therefore,  to  the  Scripture  repre- 
sentation, Providence  neither  acts  vaguely  and  at 
random,  like  a  blind  archer,  who  shoots  uncer- 
tainly in  the  dark,  as  well  as  he  can ;  nor  yet 
pro  re  nata,  or  as  the  unforeseen  exigence  of 
affairs  may  require  :  like  some  blundering  states- 
man, who  plunges  (it  may  be)  his  country  and 
liimself  into  difficulties,  and  then  is  forced  to  un- 


PREFACE.  37 

ravel  his  cobweb,  and  reverse  his  plan  of  opera- 
tions, as  the  best  remedy  for  those  disasters, 
which  the  court-spider  had  not  the  wisdom  to 
foresee.  But  shall  we  say  this  of  God  ?  It  were 
blasphemy.  He  that  dwelleth  in  heaven,  laugheth 
all  these  miserable  after- thoughts  to  scorn.  God, 
who  can  neither  be  over-reached,  nor  overpower- 
ed, has  all  these  wretched  post-expedients  in 
derision.  He  is  incapable  of  mistake.  He  knows 
no  levity  of  will.  He  cannot  be  surprised  with 
any  unforeseen  inconveniences.  His  throne  is  in 
heaven,  and  his  kingdom  ruleth  over  all.  What- 
ever, therefore,  comes  to  pass,  comes  to  pass  as 
a  part  of  the  original  plan  :  and  is  the  offspring 
of  that  prolific  series  of  causes  and  effects,  which 
owes  its  birth  to  the  ordaining  and  permissive 
will  of  him,  in  whom  we  all  live,  and  are  moved,* 
and  have  our  being.  Providence,  in  time,  is  the 
hand  that  delivers  God's  purpose,  of  those  beings 
and  events,  with  which  that  purpose  was  preg- 
nant from  everlasting.  The  doctrine  of  equivo- 
cal generation  is  not  more  absurd  in  philosophy, 
than  the  doctrine  of  unpredestinated  events  is  in 
theology. 

Thus,  the  long  train  of  things  is,  though 

A  mighty  maze,  yet  not  without  a  plan. 

God^s  sovereign  will  is  the  first  link  ;  his  unalter- 
able decree  is  the  second;  and  his  all  active  pro- 
vidence the  third,   in  the  great  chain  of  causes. 

*   JCfyy^s&e.  Acts  xvii.  2S, 

4':' 


3$  PREFACE. 

What  his  will  determined,  that  his  decree  esta- 
blished, and  his  providence  either  mediately  or 
immediately  effects.  His  will  was  the  adorable 
spring  of  all,  his  decree  marked  out  the  chan- 
nel, and  his  providence  directs  the  stream. 

"  If  so,"  it  may  be  objected,  "  It  will  follow, 
that  whatever  is,  is  right."  Consequences  can- 
not be  helped.  No  doubt,  God,  who  does  no- 
thing in  vain ;  who  cannot  do  any  thing  to  no 
purpose,  and  still  less  •  to  a  bad  one  ;  who  both 
acts  and  permits  with  design ;  and  who  weighs 
the  paths  of  men,  has,  in  the  unfathomable  abyss 
of  his  counsel,  very  important  (though  to  us  se- 
cret) reasons,  for  permitting  the  entrance  of  moral 
evil,  and  for  suffering  both*  moral  and  natural 
evil  still  to  reign  over  so  great  a  part  of  the  cre- 
ation. Unsearchable  are  his  judgments  {y^i^alx, 
decrees]  and  his  ways  [the  methods  and  dispensa- 
tions of  his  providence]  past  finding  out.  Who  hath 
known  the  mind  of  the  Lord,  or  who  hath  been 
his  counsellor  ?  For,  of  him,  and  through  him, 
and  to  him,  are  all  things.  Rom.  ii.  33,  34,  36. 
As  to  myself,  I  can,  through  grace,  most  heartily 
adopt  the  maxim  of  Rengelius,  Non  plus  sum  ere, 
non  minus  accipere  :f  I  neither  wish  to  know  more 

*  Grotius  himself  is  forced  to  own,  "  Quae  vero  permittun- 
tur  Scelera,  non  carent  interim  suo  Fructu,"  i.  c.  even  the 
crimes  which  God  permits  ihe  perpetration  of,  are  not  with* 
out  their  good  consequences.  (De  Veritat.  Kel.  I  1.  sect.  19.) 
A  bold  saying  this !  But  the  sayer  was  an  Arminian :  and 
therefore  we  hear  no  outcry  on  the  occasion. 

t  Ordo  Temporum,  cap.  viii.  p.  302- 


PREFACE.  •  33 

than  God  has  revealed,  nor  to  remain  ignorant 
of  what  he  has  revealed.  I  desire  to  advance, 
and  to  halt,  just  when  where  the  pillar  of  God's 
word  stays,  or  goes  forward.  I  am  content  that 
the  impenetrable  veil,  divinely  interposed  between 
his  purposes  and  my  comprehension,  be  not  drawn 
aside,  till  faith  is  lost  in  sight,  and  my  spirit  re- 
turn to  him  who  gave  it.  But  of  this  I  am  as- 
sured, that  echo  does  not  reverberate  sound  so 
punctually,  as  the  actual  disposal  of  things  answers 
to  God's  predetermination  concerning  them. — 
This  cannot  be  denied,  without  dethroning  pro- 
vidence, as  far  as  in  us  lies,  and  setting  up  for- 
tune in  its  room.  There  is  no  alternative.  I 
defy  all  the  sophistry  of  man,  to  strike  out  a 
middle  way.  He  that  made  all  things,  either  di- 
rects all  things  he  has  made,  or  has  consigned 
them  over  to  chance.  But  what  is  chance  ?  a 
name  for  *  nothing.  Arminianzsm^  therefore,  is 
Atheism* 


*  The  late  learned  and  indefatigable  Mr.  Chambers  has,  in 
his  valuable  Dictionary  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  under  the  word 
chance,  two  or  three  observations  so  pertinent  and  full  to 
this  remark,  (viz.  of  chance  being  a  name  for  nothing)  that 
I  cannot  help  transcribing  them.  "  Our  ignorance  and  pre- 
cipitancy lead  us  to  attribute  effects  to  chance,  whicli  have  a 
necessary  and  determinate  cause. 

"  When  we  say  a  thing  happens  by  chance ;  we  really  mean 
no  more  than  that  its  cause  is  unknown  to  us  :  and  not,  as 
some  vainly  imagine,  that  chance  itself  can  be  the  cause  of 
any  thing.  From  this  consideration,  Dr.  Bentley  takes  occa- 
sion to  expose  the  folly  of  that  old  tenet,  the  world  was 
:nade  by  chance. 


40  PREFACE. 

I  grant  that  the  twin  doctrines  of  Predestina- 
tion and  Providence  are  not  without  their  diffi- 
culties. But  the  denial  of  them  is  attended  with 
ten  thousand  times  more  and  greater.  The  diffi- 
culties on  one  side,  are  but  as  dust  upon  the  ba- 
lance :  those  in  the  other,  as  mountains  in  the 
scale.  To  imagine  that  a  Being  of  boundless 
wisdom,  power,  and  goodness,  would  create  the 
universe,  and  not  sit  at  the  helm  afterwards,  but 
turn  us  adrift  to  shift  for  ourselves,  like  an  huge 
vessel  without  a  pilot,  is  a  supposition  that  sub- 
verts every  notion  of  Deity,  gives  the  lie  to  eve- 
ry page  in  the  Bible,  contradicts  our  daily  experi- 
ence, and  insults  the  common  reason  of  mankind. 

Sav'st  thou,  the  course  of  nature  governs  all  ? 
The  course  of  nature  is  the  art  of  God. 

The  whole  creation,  from  the  seraph  down  to  the 
invisible  atom,  ministers  to  the  supreme  will,  and 
is  under  the  special  observation,  government,  and 


"  The  case  of  the  painter,  who,  unable  to  express  the  foam 
at  the  mouth  of  an  horse  he  had  painted,  threw  his  sponge  in 
despair  at  the  piece,  and  by  chance  did  that  which  he  could 
not  before  do  by  design,  is  an  eminent  instance  of  the  force 
of  chance.  Yet,  it  is  obvious,  all  we  here  mean  by  chance 
is,  that  the  painter  was  not  aware  of  the  effect :  or,  that  he 
did  not  throw  the  sponge  with  such  a  view.  Not  hut  that  he 
actually  did  every  thing  necessary  to  produce  the  effect. 
Insomuch  that,  considering  the  direction  wherein  lie  threw 
the  sponge,  together  with  lis,  form,  and  specific  gravity  ;  the 
colours  wherewith  it  was  smeered,  and  the  distance  of  the 
hand  from  the  piece ;  it  was  impossible,  on  the  present  sys- 
tem of  things,  that  the  effect  should  not  follow." 


PREFACE.  41 

direction  of  the  Omnipotent  mind :  who  sees  all, 
himself  unseen  j  who  upholds  all,  himself  unsus- 
tained  ;  who  guides  all,  himself  guided  by  none; 
and  who  changes  all,  himself  unchanged. 

u  But  does  not  this  doctrine  tend  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  fatality  V*  Supposing  it  even  did, 
were  it  not  better  to  be  a  Christian  fatalist,  than 
to  avow  a  set  of  loose  Arminian  principles,  which 
if  pushed  to  their  natural  extent,  inevitably  ter- 
minate in  the  rankest  Atheism  ?  For,  without 
predestination,  there  can  be  no  Providence  ;  and, 
without  Providence,  no  God. 

After  all,  What  do  you  mean  by  fate  ?  If  you 
mean  a  regular  succession  of  determined  events, 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  time  ;  an  unin- 
terrupted chain,  without  a  single  chasm  ;  all  de- 
pending on  the  eternal  will  and  continued  influen- 
ence  of  the  great  First  Cause :  this  is    fate,    it 
must  be  owned,  That  it  and  the  scripture  predes- 
tination are,  at  most,  very  thinly  divided  ;  or,  ra- 
ther, entirely  coalesce. — But  if  by  fate  is  meant, 
either  a  constitution  of  things  antecedent  to  the 
will  of  God ;  by  which  he  himself  was  bound,  ab 
origine  ;  and  which  goes  on  of  itself,  to  multiply 
causes  and  effects,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  all-per- 
vading power  and  unintermitting  agency  of  an  in- 
telligent, perpetual,    and  particular  Providence  : 
neither  reason    nor  Christianity    allows  of  any 
such  fate  as  this.     Fate,  thus  considered,  is  just 
such  an  extreme,   on  one  hand,   as   chance  is    on 
the  other.     Both  are  alike,  unexistable. 
4 


PREFACE. 


It  having  been  not  unusual  with  the  Arminian 
writers  to  tax  us  with  adopting  the  fate  of  the 
ancient  Stoics ;    I  thought  it  might  not  be  unac- 
ceptable to  the  English  reader,  to  subjoin  a  brief 
view  of  what  those  philosophers  generally  held, 
(for  they  were  not   all  exactly  of  a  mind  J  as  to 
this  particular.     It  will  appear  to   every  compe- 
tent reader,  from  what  is  there  given,  how  far  the 
doctrine  of  fate  as  believed  and  taught  by  the 
Stoics,   may  be  admitted  upon  Christian  princi- 
ples.    Having  large  materials  by  me  for  such  a 
work,  it  would  have  been  very  easy  forme  to  have 
annexed  a  dissertation  of  my  own  upon  the  sub- 
ject :  but  I  chose  to  confine  myself  to  a  small  ex- 
tract from  the  citations  and  remarks  of  the  learn- 
ed Lifisiusy  who  seems  in  his  Physiologic  Stoi- 
corum,  to  have  almost  exhausted  the  substance  of 
the  argument,  with  a  penetration  and  precision 
which   leave  little  room  either  for  addition  or 
amendment.     In  a  cause,  therefore,  where  the 
interest  of  truth  is  so  eminently  concerned    I 
would  rather  retain  the  ablest  counsel  when  it  can 
be  had,  than  to  venture  to  be  myself  her  sole  ad- 
vocate. 

For  my  own  particular  part,  I  frankly  confess 
that,  as  far  as  the  coincidence  of  the  Stoical  fate, 
with  the   Bible  predestination*  holds  good;  I 


*  "  Now  I  am  in  some  measure  enlightened,"  (says  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Newton,  of  Olney,)  «  I  can  easily  perceive,  that  it 
is  in  the  adjustment  and  concurrence  of  seemingly  fortuitous 
circumstances,  that  the  ruling  power  and  wisdom  of  God  are 


PREFACE.  43 

see  no  reason  why  we  should  be  ashamed  to 
acknowledge  it.  St.  Austin,  and  many  other 
great  and  excellent  men,  have  not  scrupled  to  ad- 
mit both  the  word  [viz.  the  word  fate\  and  the 
thing  properly  understood.*     I  am  quite  of  Lip- 

rnost  evidently  displayed  in  human  affairs.  How  many  such 
casual  events  may  we  remark  in  the  history  of  Joseph,  which 
had  each  a  necessary  influence  in  his  ensuing'  promotion!—^" 
the  Midianites  had  passed  by  a  day  sooner,  or  a  day  later  ;— 
jythey  had  sold  him  to  any  person  but  Potiphar  ; — If his  mis- 
tress  had  been  a  better  woman  ; — If  Pharaoh's  officers  had 
not  displeased  their  Lord;  or,  if  any,  or  all  these  things  had 
fallen  out  in  any  other  manner  or  time  than  they  did,  all 
that  followed  had  been  prevented :  the  promises  and  pur- 
poses of  God  concerning  Israel,  their  bondage,  deliverances, 
polity,  and  settlement,  must  have  failed:  and  as  all  these  things 
tended  to  and  centred  in  Christ,  the  promised  Saviour ;  the 
desire  of  all  nations  would  not  have  appeared.  Mankind  had 
been  still  in  their  sins,  without  hope ;  and  the  counsels  of  God's 
eternal  love,  in  favour  of  sinners,  defeated.  Thus  we  may 
see  a  connexion  between  Joseph's  first  dream  and  the  death 
of  our  Lord  Christ,  with  all  its  glorious  consequences.  So 
strong,  though  secret,  is  the  concatenation  between  the 

greatest   and   the   smallest  events  ! What  a   comfortable 

thought  is  this  to  a  believer,  to  know,  that  amidst  all  the  va- 
rious, interfering  designs  of  men,  the  Lord  has  one  constant 
design,  which  he  cannot,  will  not  miss :  namely,  his  own  glo- 
ry, in  the  complete  salvation  of  his  people  I  And  that  he  is 
wise,  and  strong,  and  faithful,  to  make  even  those  things, 
which  seem  contrary  to  this  design,  subservient  to  promote 
it !"  See  p.  96.  and  seq.  of  a  most  entertaining  and  instruc- 
tive piece,  entitled  An  authentic  Narrative  of  some  remark- 
able and  interesting  Particulars,  in  the  Life  of  **•***,  in  a 
Sei-ies  of  Letters,  1765. 

*  For  a  sample,  the  learned  reader  may  peruse  the  judi- 
cious chapter,  De  Fato,  in  Abp.  Bradwardin't  immortal  book 
De  Causa  Dei,  lib.  i.  cap.  29 


44  PREFACE. 

sius's  mind  :  "  Et  vcro  non  aversabor  Stoici  no- 
men;  sed  Stoici  Christiani :  I  have  no  objection 
to  being  called  a  Stoic  so  you  pi'efix  the  word 
Christian  to  it."* 

Here  ended  the  first  lesson :  i.  e.  here  ended 
the  preface  to  the  former  edition  of  this  tract. 
A  tract,  whose  publication  has  raised  the  indig- 
nant quills  of  more  than  one  Arminian  porcu- 
pine. 

Among  those  enraged  porcupines,  none  has 
hitherto  bristled  up  so  fiercely  as  the  high  and 
mighty  Mr.  John  Wesley.  He  even  dipt  his 
quills  in  the  ink  of  forgery  on  the  occasion  ;  as 
Indians  tinge  the  points  of  their  arrows  with  poi- 
son, in  hope  of  their  doing  more  effectual  execu- 
tion. The  quills,  however,  have  reverberated, 
and  with  ample  interest,  on  poor  Mr.  John's  own 
pate.  He  felt  the  unexpected  pain,  and  he  has 
squeaked  accordingly.  I  will  not  here  add  to 
the  well  deserved  chastisement  he  has  received  : 
which,  from  more  than  one  quarter,  has  been  such, 
as  will  probably  keep  him  sore,  while  his  sur- 
name begins  with  W.  Let  him,  for  his  own 
sake,  learn,  as  becomes  a  very  sore  man,  to  lie 
still.  Rest  may  do  him  good  :  motion  will  but 
add  to  his  fever,  by  irritating  his  humours  already 
too  peccant.  Predestination  is  a  stone,  by  rashly 
falling  on  which,  he  has  more  than  once  been  la- 
mentably broken.     I  wish  him  to  take  heed,  in 


*  Oper.  tom.i.  Def  Posthum-  cap.  ii.  p.  118. 


PREFACE.  45 

due  season,  lest  that  stone  at  length  fall  on  him. 
For,  notwithstanding  all  his  delinquencies,  I 
would  still  have  him  avoid,  if  possible,  the  catas- 
trophe of  being  ground  to  powder. 


- 


4  *• 


SOME   ACCOUNT    OF 

THE  LIFE 

OF 

JEROM  ZANCHIUS. 


IT  has  been  asserted,*  that  this  great  divine  was 
born  at  Alzano,  a  town  of  Italy,  situate  in  the 
valley  of  Seri,  or  Serio.  But  the  learned  John 
Sturmius,  who  was  not  only  Zanchy's  contempo- 
rary, but  one  of  his  most  intimate  friends,  ex- 
pressly affirms  in  a  *speech  delivered  on  a  pub- 
lic and  important  occasion,  That  he  was  nobili 
natus  familia  Bet garni;  born  of  an  illustrious 
family  at  Bergamo,  the  capital  of  a  little  pro- 
vince in  the  north-west  of  Italy,  anciently  a  part 
of  Gallia  Cispadana ;  but  A.  D.  1428,  made  a 
parcel  of  the  Venetian  territory,  as  it  still  con- 
tinues.^    I  look  upon  Sturmius's  testimony  as 


*  Melch.  Adam  Vit.  Theolog.  Exterior,  p.  148.  and  Bayle's 
Hist.  Diet  under  the  article  Zanchius. 

f  Addressed  by  Sturmius,  to  the  senate  of  Stratsburgv, 
March  20,  1562-  and  inserted  afterwards  into  the  works  of 
Zanchy,  Tom.  vii.  part  %  col.  408. 

%  Complete  Syst.  of  Geog.  vol,  1.  p.  843. 


48  THE   LIFE   OF 

decisive  :  it  being  hardly  credible,  that  he  could 
mistake  the  native  place  of  a  colleague,  whom  he 
so  highly  valued,  who  was  living  at  the  very 
time,  and  with  whom  he  had  opportunity  of  con- 
versing daily.  Sturmius  adds,  That  there  was 
then  remaining  at  Bergamo,  a  fortress  (built  pro- 
bably by  some  of  Zanchy's  ancestors)  known  by 
the  name  of  The  Zanchian  Tower. 

In  this  city  was  our  author  born,  Feb.  2, 1516. 
At  the  time  of  his  birth,  part  of  the  public  ser- 
vice, then  performing,  was,  a  light  to  lighten  the 
Gentiles,  &c.  And  by  God's  good  providence 
the  reformation  broke  forth  the  very  next  year  in 
Germany,  under  the  auspices  of  Luther ;  and 
began  to  spread  far  and  wide. 

At  the  age  of  twelve  years,  Zanehy  lost  his  fa- 
ther,* who  died  of  the  plague,  A.  D.  1528. 
His  motherf  survived  her  husband  but  three 
years.  Deprived  thus  of  both  his  parents,  Zan- 
ehy resolved  on  a  monastic  life  ;  and  accord- 
ingly, joined  himself  to  a  society  of  Canons  Re- 
gular.:{:  He  did  this  partly  to  improve  himself  in 
literature,  and  partly  for  the  sake  of  being  with 
some  of  his  relations,  who  had  before  entered 
themselves  of  that  house.      Here  he  continued 


*  Francis  Zanchius ;   who  seems  to  have  been  a  native  of 
Venice,  and  was  by  profession  a  counsellor. 

f  Barbara ;  sister  to  Marc  Antony  Mutius,  a  nobleman  of 
great  worth  and  distinction. 

*  At  Lucca.    See  the  Biogr.  Diet-  vol-  viii.  p.  267,  under 
the  article  Peter  Martyr. 


JEROM   ZANCHIUS.  49 

nineteen  years;  chiefly  devoting  his  studies  to 
Aristotle,  the  languages,  and  school-divinity. 

It  was  his  happiness  to  become  acquainted  very 
early  in  life  with  Celsus  Maximian,  count  of 
Martinengo  ;  who,  from  being  like  Zanchy,  a  bi- 
goted papist  by  education,  became  afterwards  a 
burning  and  shining  light  in  the  reformed  church. 
Of  our  author's  intimacy  with  this  excellent  no- 
bleman, and  its  blessed  effects,  himself  gives  us 
the  following  account:*  "  I  left  Italy  for  the  gos- 
pel's sake  ;  to  which  I  was  not  a  little  animated  by 
the  example  of  count  Maximian,  a  learned  and 
pious  personage,  and  my  most  dear  brother  in 
the  Lord.  We  had  lived  together  under  one 
roof,  and  in  a  state  of  the  strictest  religious 
friendship  for  the  greater  part  of  sixteen  years  ; 
being  both  of  us  Canons  Regular,  of  nearly  the 
same  age  and  standing,  unisons  in  temper  and 
disposition,  pursuing  the  same  course  of  studies, 
and  which  was  better  still,  joint  hearers  of  Peter 
Martyr,  when  that  apostolic  man  publicly  ex- 
pounded St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  and 
gave  private  lectures  on  the  Psalms  to  us  his 
monks."  From  this  memorable  period  we  are 
evidently  to  date  the  sera  of  Zanchy's  awakening 
to  a  trae  sight  and  experimental  sense  of  divine 
things.  His  friend,  the  count,  and  the  learned 
Tremellius,  were  also  converted  about  the  same 
time,  under  the  ministry  of  Martyr. 


*  Zanchii  Epist  ad  Lantgrav.    Operutn.    Toro  vii,  part.  1. 
col    4. 


50  THE  LIFE  OF 

This  happy  change  being  effected,  our  authors 
studies  began  to  run  in  a  new  channel.  "  The 
count,"  says  he,  "  and  myself  betook  ourselves 
to  a  diligent  reading  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  ;  to 
which  we  joined  a  perusal  of  the  best  of  the  fa- 
thers, and  particularly  St.  Austin.  For  some 
years  we  went  on  thus  in  private,  and  in  public 
we  preached  the  gospel  as  far  as  we  were  able  in 
its  purity.  The  count,  whose  gifts  and  graces 
were  abundantly  superior  to  mine,  preached  with 
much  greater  enlargement  of  spirit,  and  freedom 
of  utterance  than  I  could  ever  pretend  to  :  it  was 
therefore,  no  wonder  that  he  found  himself  con- 
strained to  fly  his  country  before  I  was.  The 
territory  of  the  Grisons  was  his  immediate  place 
of  retreat ;  from  whence  removing  soon  after,  he 
settled  at  Geneva,  where  he  commenced  the  first 
pastor  of  the  protestant  Italian  church  in  that  city. 
Having  faithfully  executed  this  sacred  office  for 
some  years,  he  at  length  comfortably  fell  asleep 
in  Christ*,"  A«  D«  1558,  after  having,  on  his 
death-bed,  commended  the  oversight  of  his  flock 
to  the  great  Calvin. 

It  was  in  the  year  1550,  that  Peter  Martyr 
himself  was  obliged  to  quit  Italy  ;  where  he  could 
no  longer  preach,  nor  even  stay  with  safety.  To- 
ward the  latter  end  of  the  same  year,  eighteen  of 
his  disciples  were  forced  to  follow  their  master 
from  their  native  land ;  of  which  number  Zanchy 


*  Zanch.  tit  supra 


JEROM   2.ANCHIUS.  51 

was  one.  Being  thus  a  refugee,  or,  as  himself 
used  to  express  it,  u  delivered  from  his  Babylon- 
ish captivity ,"  he  went  into  Grisony,  where  he 
continued  upwards  of  eight  months  ;  and  then  to 
Geneva,  where  after  a  stay  of  near  a  twelve- 
month, he  received  an  invitation  to  England, 
(upon  the  recommendation  of  Peter  Martyr,  then 
in  this  kingdom,)  to  fill  a  divinity  professorship 
here  ;  I  suppose  at  Oxford,  where  Martyr  had 
been  for  some  time  settled.  Zanchy  embraced 
the  offer  and  began  his  journey,  but  was  detained 
on  his  way  by  a  counter  inyitation  to  Strasburgh, 
where  the  divinity  chair  hall  been  lately  vacated 
by  the  death  of  the  excellent  Caspar  Hedio. 

Zanchy  was  fixed  at  Strasburgh,  A.  D.  155S, 
and  taught  there  almost  eleven  years  ;  but  not 
without  some  uneasiness  to  himself,  occasioned 
by  the  malicious  opposition  of  several,  who  per- 
secuted him  for  much  the  same  reason  that  Cain 
hated  righteous  Abel,  1  John  iii.  12.  Matters 
however  went  on  tolerably  during  the  life-time  of 
Sturmius,  who  was  then  at  the  head  of  the  uni- 
versity, and  Zanchius's  fast  friend.  At  Stras- 
burgh it  was,  that  he  presented  the  famous  de- 
claration of  his  faith  concerning  Predestination, 
Final  Perseverance  and  the  Lord's  Supper.  He 
gave  it  in  to  the  Senate,  October  22,  1562.  Of 
this  admirable  performance,  (i.  e.  of  that  part  of 
it  which  respects  the  first  of  these  points)  the 
reader  may  form  some  judgment  by  the  following 
translation. 


52  THE   LIFE   OF 

In  proportion  as  the  old  senators  and  divines 
died  off,  one  by  one,  Zanchy's  situation  at  Stras- 
burgh,  grew  more  and  more  uncomfortable. 
Matters  at  length  came  to  that  height,  that  he  was 
required  to  subscribe  to  the  Augsburgh  confes- 
sion, on  pain  of  losing  his  professorship.  After 
mature  deliberation,  he  did  indeed  subscribe ; 
but  with  this  declared  restriction,  modo  orthodoxe 
intelligatur.  Notwithstanding  the  express  limi- 
tation with  which  he  fettered  his  subscription, 
still  this  great  and  good  man  seems,  for  peace 
sake,  to  have  granted.  to°  much  concerning  the 
manner  of  Christ's  presence  in  the  Lord's  sup- 
per ;  as  appears  by  the  first  of  the  three  theses, 
maintained  by  him  at  this  time  :  1.  Verum  Chris- 
ti  corpus,  pro  nobis  traditum ;  &?  verum  ejus 
sanguinem,  in  peccatorum  nostrorum  remissionem 
effusum ;  in  Ccena  vere  manducari  £s?  bibi. 
Though  the  other  two  positions  do  effectually 
explain  his  meaning  :  2.  Verum  id,  non  ore,  &? 
dentibus  corporis,  sed  vera  Jide.  3.  Ideoque,  a 
solis  jidelibus.  I  shall  here  beg  leave  to  inter- 
pose one  question  naturally  arising  from  the  sub- 
ject. What  good  purpose  do  the  imposition  and 
the  multiplication  of  unnecessary  subscriptions, 
to  forms  of  human  composition  tend  to  promote  ? 
It  is  a  fence  far  too  low  to  keep  out  men  of  little 
or  no  principle  ;  and  too  high,  sometimes,  for 
men  of  real  integrity  to  surmount.  It  often  opens 
a  door  of  ready  admission  to  the  abandoned  ; 
who,  ostrich  like,  care  not  what  they  swallow,  so 
they  can  but  make  subscription  a  bridge  to  secular 


JEROM   ZANCrtlUS.  53 

interest  :  and,  for  the  truly  honest,  it  frequently 
cither  quite  excludes  them  from  a  sphere  of  ac- 
tion, wherein  they  might  be  eminently  useful,  or 
obliges  them  to  testify  their  assent  in  such  terms, 
and  with  such  open  professed  restrictions,  as  ren- 
der subscription  a  mere  nothing. 

Not  content  with  Zanchy's  concessions,  several 
of  the  Strasburgh  bigots*  persisted  in  raising  a 
controversial  dust.  They  tendered  accusations 
against  him,  of  errors  in  point  of  doctrine  ;  par- 
ticularly for  his  supposed  heterodoxy  concerning 
the  nature  of  the  Lord's  supper;  his  denial  of  the 
ubiquity  of  Christ's  natural  body,  and  his  pro- 
testing against  the  lawfulness  of  images,  &c. 
Nay,  they  even  went  so  far,  as  to  charge  him  with, 
unsound  opinions  concerning  predestination  and 
the  perseverance  of  the  truly  regenerate  ;  so  early 
did  some  of  Luther's  pretended  disciples,  after 
the  death  of  that  glorious  reformer  (and  he  had. 
not  been  dead  at  this  time  above  fifteen  years,) 
begin  to  fall  off  from  the  doctrines  he  taught, 
though  they  still  had  the  effrontery  to  call  them- 
selves by  his  name  ! 

*  Particularly  John  Marbach,  a  native  of  Schawben,  or 
Swabia;  a  turbulent,  unsteady  theologist ;  pedantic  and  abu- 
sive ;  a  weak  but  fiery  disputer,  who  delighted  to  live  in  the 
smoke  of  contention  and  virulent  debate.  He  was,  among  the 
rest  of  his  good  qualities,  excessively  loquacious  ;  which  made 
Luther  say  of  him,  on  a  very  public  occasion,  Oil  hujus  Suevi 
nunquam  aranecE  poierunt  tei'as  texere  ;  "  This  talkative  Swa- 
bian  need  not  be  afraid  of  spiders  ;  for  he  keeps  his  lips  in 
such  constant  motion,  that  no  spider  will  ever  be  able  to 
weave  a  cobweb  on  his  mouth" 

5 


54  THE   LIFE   OF 

A  grand  occasion  of  this  dissentioii  was  a  book 
concerning  the  Eucharist,  and  in  defence  of  Con- 
substantiation,  written  by  one  Heshusins;  a  fierce, 
invidious  preacher,  who  lavished  the  opprobrious 
names  of  heretic  and  atheist  on  all  without  dis- 
tinction,  whose  religious  system  went  an  hair's 
breadth  above  or  below  his  own  standard.    In  his 
preface,  he  grossly  reflected*  on  the  Elector  Pal- 
atine, (Frederic  III.)   Peter  Martyr,   Bullinger, 
Calvin,  Zuinglius,  CEcolampadius,  and  other  great 
divines  of  that  age.     Zanchy,  in  mere  respect  to 
these  venerable  names,    did,    in  concert  with  the 
learned  Sturmius,  prevail  with  the  magistrates  of 
Strasburgh  to  prohibit  the  impression.   Mr.  Bayle 
is  so  candid  as  to  acknowledge,  That  "  Zanchy 
caused  this  book  to  be  suppressed,  not  on  account 
of  its  doctrine,  which  he  left  to  the  judgment  of 
the  church,  but  for  the  calumnies  of  the  pre^ 
face."     Zanchy  was  a  zealous  friend  to  religious 
liberty.     He  had  too  great  a  share  of  good  sense 
and  real  religion,  to  pursue  any  measures  which 
simply  tended  either  to  restrain  men  from  declar- 
ing their  principles  with  safety,  or  to  shackle  the 
human  mind  in  its  inquiries  after  truth.     But  he 
ardently  wished  to  see  the  contending  parties  of 
every  denomination  carry  on  their  debates  with 
christian  meekness,  modesty,  and  benevolence  ; 
and,  where  these  amiable  ingredients  were  want- 
ing, he  looked  upon  disputation  as  a  malignant 


*  Vide  Zanc.  Op.  Tom.  vii.  pu-t  2.  col.  250,  25! 


JEKOtt   ZANCHIU?.  55 

fever,  endangering  the  health,  peace,  and  safety 
of  the  church.  When  candour  is  lost,  truth  is 
rarely  found.  Zanchy's  own  observations,*  sub- 
joined below,  exhibit  a  striking  picture  of  that 
moderation,  detachment  from  bigotry,  and  libe- 
rality of  sentiment,  which  strongly  characterize 
the  Christian  and  the  Protestant* 

Notwithstanding  the  precautions  taken  by  the 
magistrates,  Heshusius's  incendiary  piece  stole 
through  the  press  :  and  Zanchy's  efforts  to  stifle 
its  publication,  were  looked  upon  by  the  author's 
party,  as  an  injury  never  to  be  forgiven.  They 
left  no  methods  unassayed,  to  remove  him  from 
his  professorship.  Many  compromising  expedients 
were  proposed  by  the  moderate  of  both  parties. 
The  chapter  of  St.  Thomas  (of  which  Zanchy 
himself  was  a  canon)  met  to  consider  what  course 
should  be  pursued.  By  them  it  was  referred  to 
a  select  committee  of  thirteen.  Zanchy  offered 
to  debate  the  agitated  points  in  a  friendly  and 
peaceable  manner  with  his  opponents  :   which  of- 


*  Si  liber  iste  non  fuisset  refortus  tot  calumniis  Si  convitiis, 
turn  in  ipsum  principem  Palatinum,  turn  in  tot  prxclaras  ec- 
clesias  St  earum  doctores  ;  ego  non  curassem  in  ejus  impres- 
sionem  impediri.  Licet  enim  unicuique  suam  sententiam  scrL 
here  et  explicate.  Sed  cum  audirem  tot  ecclesias  in  libro  ista 
damnari  hxreseos  h.  atheismi  ;  idque  non  propter  unum  aut 
altemm  articulum  fidei,  qui  impugnaretur,  sed  solummodo 
propter  interpretationem  aliquam  verborum,  in  qua  neque  tcr- 
ta  religio  consistit,  neque  salus  periclitatur:— adductus  fui,Ut 
libri  istius  impressionem,  &c. 

Zanch.  ubi  s-tfpr- 


56  THE   LIFE   OF 

fer  not  being  accepted,  he  made  several  journies 
to  other  churches  and  universities  in  different 
parts  of  Germany  ;  and  requested  their  opinions, 
which  he  brought  with  him  in  writing.  Things, 
however,  could  not  be  settled  till  the  senate  of 
Strasburgh  convened  an  assembly  from  other 
districts,  consisting  partly  of  divines,  and 
partly  of  persons  learned  in  the  laws.  These  re- 
ferees, after  hearing  both  sides,  recurred  to  the 
eld  fruitless  expedient  of  agreeing  On  certain  ar- 
ticles to  which  they  advised  each  party  to  sub- 
scribe. Zanchy,  desirous  of  laying  these  unchris- 
tian heats,  and,  at  the  same  time,  no  less  deter- 
mined to  preserve  integrity  and  a  good  con- 
science, subscribed  in  these  cautious  terms : 
JHanc  doctrines  formulam  ut  piam  agnosco,  ita 
etiam  recipio  :  "  I  acknowledge  this  summary  of 
doctrine  to  be  pious,  and  so  I  admit  it."  This 
condescension  on  Zanchy's  part  was  not  follow- 
ed by  those  peaceful  effects  which  were  expect- 
ed. The  peace  was  too  loosely  patched  up  to  be 
of  any  long  duration.  His  adversaries  began  to 
worry  him  afresh  ;  and  just  as  measures  were 
bringing  on  the  carpet,  for  a  new  and  more  last- 
ing compromise,  our  divine  received  an  invitation 
to  the  church  of  Chiavenna  ;  situate  on  the  bor- 
ders of  Italy,  and  in  the  territory  of  the  Grisons. 
Augustin  Mainard,  pastor  of  that  place,  was 
lately  dead  ;  and  a  messenger  arrived  to  let  Zan- 
chy know  that  he  was  chosen  to  succeed  him. 
Having  a  very  slender  prospect  of  peace  at  Stras- 
burgh,  he  obtained  the  consent  of  the  senate  to 


JEROM   ZANCHIDS.  57" 

tesign  his  canonry  of  St.  Thomas,  and  professors- 
ship  of  divinity.  Whilst  the  above  debates  were 
pending-,  he  had  received  separate  invitations 
to  Zurich,  Geneva,  Leyden,  Heidelberg,  Mar- 
purg  and  Lausanne  ;  but,  till  he  had  seen  the  re- 
sult of  things  at  Strasburgh,  he  did  not  judge  any 
of  these  calls  sufficiently  providential  to  deter- 
mine his  removal. 

He  left  Strasburgh,*  in  November,  1563,  and 
entered  on  his  pastoral  charge  at  Chiavenna,  the 
beginning  of  January  following.  But  he  had  not 
long  been  there,  before  the  town  was  visited  by 
a  dismal  pestilence,  which,  within  the  space  of 
seven  months,  carried  off  twelve  hundred  of  the 
inhabitants.  Zanchy,  however,  continued  to  ex- 
ercise his  ministry  as  long  as  there  was  an  as- 
sembly to  preach  to.  At  length,  the  far  greater 
part  of  the  townsmen  being  swept  away,  he  re> 
treated  for  a  while  with  his  family  to  an  adjoin- 
ing mountain.     His  own  account  is  this  (Tom. 


*  Attended  by  his  servant,  Frideric  Syllaspurg,  a  native 
of  Hesse :  concerning  whom  Zanchy  thus  writes  ;  Disccs&i 
Argentina,  una  cum  jido,  non  tarn  j'amulo,  quant  amico  & 
fratrv,  Friderico  Syllnepurgio,  Iletso  ;  juvene  honor urn  literarum, 
studioso,  &  sante  doctrinx  amanti :  "  A  learned  youth,  and  a 
lover  of  the  gospel ;  whom  I  look  upon,  not  so  much  in  the 
light  of  a  domestic,  as  of  a  faithfid  friend,  and  a  Christian 
brother." 

Opcr.  T.  vil.  part  1.  col.  36. 
I  hardly  know  which  was  most  extraordinary  :  the  good 
qualities  of  the  servant,  or  the  gratitude  and  humility  of  tSre 
master 


58  THE  LIFE   OF 

vii.  part.  1.  col.  36,  37.)  "  Mainard,   my  pioua 
predecessor,  had  often  foretold  the  calamity  with 
which  the  town  of  Chiavenna  has  been  since  vi- 
sited.    All  the  inhabitants  have  been  too  well 
convinced,  that  that  holy  man  of  God  did  not  pro- 
phesy at  random. — When  the  plague  actually  be- 
gan to  make  havoc,  I  enforced  repentance  and 
faith  while  I  had  a  place  to  preach  in,  or  any*con- 
gregation  to  hear. — Many  being  dead,  and  others 
havingfled  the  town,  (like  ship-wrecked  mariners, 
who,   to  avoid  instant  destruction,  make  toward 
what  coast  they  can  ;)   but  very  few  remained  : 
and,   of  these  remaining  few,  some  were  almost 
terrified  to  death,  others  were  solely  employed  in 
taking  care  of  the  sick,  and  others  in  guarding  the 
walls. — They  concurred  in  advising  me  to   con- 
sult my  own  safety,  by  withdrawing  for  a  time, 
till  the  indignation  should  be  overpast.    I  betook 
myself,  therefore,  with  all  my  family,  to  an  high 
mountain,  not  a  vast  way  from  the  town,  yet  re- 
mote from  human  converse,  and  peculiarly  form- 
ed for  contemplation  and  unmolested  retirement. 
Here  we  led  a  solitary  life  for  three  months  and 
an   half.     I  devoted  my  time  chiefly   to  medita- 
tion and  writing,  to  prayer,  and  reading  the  scrip- 
tures.    I  never  was  happier  in  my  own  soul,  nor 
enjoyed  a  better  share  of  health."     Afterwards, 
the  plague  beginning  to  abate,  he  quitted  his  re- 
treat and  resumed  the  public  exercise  of  his  func- 
tion. 

After   four  years  continuance  at   Chiavenna, 
Frederic  III.  Elector  Palatine,  prevailed  with 


JEROM   ZAKCHIUS.  59 

him  to  accept  a  divinity  professorship  in  the  uni- 
versity of  Heidelberg,  upon  the  decease  of  the  fa- 
mous Zachary  Ursin.  In  the  beginning  of  the 
year  1568,  Zanchy  entered  on  his  new  situation  ; 
and  shortly  after  opened  the  chair  with  an  admi- 
rable oration,  De  conservando  in  ecclesia  puroputo 
verbo  Dei.  In  the  same  year  he  received  his 
doctor's  degree ;  the  Elector  Palatine,  and  his 
son  prince  Casimir,  honouring  the  ceremony 
with  their  presence. 

He  had  not  been  long  settled  in  the  palatinate, 
when  the  Elector  (one  of  the  most  amiable  and 
religious  princes  of  that  age)  strongly  solicited 
him  to  confirm  and  elucidate  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  by  writing  a  professed  treatise  on  that 
most  important  subject :  desiring  him,  moreover, 
to  be  very  particular  and  explicit  in  canvassing 
the  arguments  made  use  of  by  the  Socinians, 
who  had  then  fixed  their  head  quarters  in  Poland 
and  Transylvania,  and  were  exhausting  every  ar- 
tifice of  sophistry  and  subterfuge,  to  degrade 
the  Son  and  Spirit  of  God  to  the  level  of  mere 
creatures.  Zanchy  accordingly  employed  his 
leisure  hours  in  obeying  this  pious  command. 
His  masterly  and  elaborate  treatise,  De  Dei  na- 
iura ;  and  that  De  tribus  Elohim  una  eodemque 
Jehova;  were  written  on  this  occasion:  treatises 
fraught  with  the  most  solid  learning  and  argu- 
ment, breathing  at  the  same  time,  the  amiable 
spirit  of  genuine  candour  and  transparent  piety. 
Among  a  variety  of  interesting  particulars,  he 
does  not  omit  to  inform  his  readers,  that  Leslius 


60  THfi   LIFE  OF 

Socinus,  and  other  favourers  of  the  Servetian  hy- 
pothesis, had  spared  rreither  pains  nor  art  to  per- 
vert his  judgment,  and  win  him  over  to  their 
party ;  but  that,  finding  him  inflexible,  they  had 
broke  off  all  intercourse  with  him,  and  from  art- 
ful adulators,  commenced  his  determined  ene- 
mies. An  event  this,  which  he  even  looked  upon  as 
a  blessing,  and  for  which  he  conceived  himself 
bound  to  render  his  best  thanks  to  the  supreme 
head  of  the  church,  Christ  Jesus.  He  retained 
his  professorship  at  Heidelberg  ten  years  ;  when, 
the  elector  Frederic  being  dead,  he  removed  to 
Newstadt,  the  residence  of  prince  John  Casimir, 
count  Palatine.  Here  he  chose  to  fix  his  station 
for  the  present,  in  preference  to  two  invitations  he 
had  just  received ;  one  from  the  university  of 
Leyden,  then  lately  opened ;  the  other  from  the 
Protestant  church  at  Antwerp.  The  conduct  of 
Divine  Providence  respecting  Zanchy's  frequent 
removals  is  very  observable.  He  was  a  lover  of 
peace,  and  passionately  fond  of  retirement.  But  he 
was  too  bright  a  luminary  to  be  always  continued  in 
one  place.  The  salt  of  the  earth  must  be  sprink- 
led here  and  there,  in  order  to  be  extensively  use- 
ful, and  to  season  the  church  throughout.  Hence, 
God's  faithful  ministers,  like  the  officers  in  a  mo- 
narch's army,  are  quartered  in  various  places ; 
stationed  and  remanded  hither  and  thither,  as  may 
most  conduce  to  their  master's  service. 

The  church  of  Newstadt  enjoyed  our  author 
upwards  of  seven  years.  Being  by  that  time  far 
advanced  in  life,  and  the  infirmities  of  age  coming 


JEROM    ZANCHIUS.  61 

on  him  very  fast,  he  found  himself  obliged  to 
cease  from  that  constant  series  of  labour  and  in- 
tenseness  of  application,  which  he  had  so  long  and 
30  indefatigably  undergone.  He  was,  at  his  owh 
request,  dismissed  from  public  service  at  New- 
stadt,  by  the  elector  Casimir ;  receiving  at  the 
same  time,  very  substantial  marks  of  respect  and 
favour  from  that  religious  and  generous  prince. 

From  Newstadt,  he  repaired  once  more  td 
Heidelberg;  chiefly  with  a  view  to  see  some  of 
his  old  friends.  This  proved  his  last  removal  on 
earth ;  for  shortly  after,  his  soul  now  ripe  for 
glory,  dropped  the  body,  and  ascended  to  heaven 
about  six  in  the  morning  of  November  19,  1590, 
iEt.  75.  His  remains  were  interred  at  Heidel- 
berg, in  the  college  chapel  of  St.  Peter  ;  where  a 
small  monumental  stone  was  set  up  to  his  memo- 
ry, with  this  inscription : 

Hieronymi  hie  sunt  condita  ossa  Zanchii, 
Itali ;  exulantis,  Christi  amore,  a  patria  : 
Qui  theologus  quantus  fuerit  et  philosophus, 
Testantur  hoc,  libri  editi  ab  eo  plurimi ; 
Testantur  hoc,  quos  voce  docuit  in  scholis  ; 
Quique  audiere  eum  docentem  ecclesias. 
Nunc  ergo,  quamvis  hinc  migrant  spiritu, 
Claro  tamen  nobis  remansit  nomine.* 

Decessit  A.  mdxc.  Die  19  No  vera. 


*  Here  Zancky  rests,  whom  love  of  truth  constraint 
To  quit  his  own  and  seek  a  foreign  land. 
How  good  and  great  he  was,  how  form'd  to  shine, 
How  fraught  with  science  human  and  divine ; 


62  THE   LIFE    OF 

I  cannot  help  lamenting,  that  no  more  is  to  bd 
collected  concerning  this  incomparable  man,  than 
a  few  outlines  of  his  life  ;  comprizing  little  else 
but  a  dry  detail  of  dates  and  removals. 

As  to  his  person,  I  can  find  no  description  of 
it,  except  from  some  very  old  and  scarce  prints, 
most  of  which  were  struck  from  engravings  on 
■wood.  These  represent  him  as  extremely  corpu- 
lent, even  to  unwieldiness  :  and  yet,  from  the  as- 
tonishing extent,  profoundness  and  exquisite  ac- 
tivity of  his  learning,  judgment  and  genius,  one 
might  well  nigh  be  induced  to  imagine,  that  he 
consisted  entirely  of  soul,  without  any  dead 
weight  of  body  at  all :  for,  of  his  mind,  his  wri- 
tings present  us  with  the  loveliest  image.  He 
seems  to  have  been  possessed,  and  in  a  very  su- 
perior degree,  of  those  graces,  virtues  and  abili- 
ties, which  ennoble  and  exalt  human  nature  to 
the  highest  elevation  it  is  capable  of  below.  His 
clear  insight  into  the  truths  of  the  gospel  is  won- 
derful !  especially,  considering  that  the  church  of 
God  was  but  just  emerging  from  the  long  and 
dismal  night  of  Popish  darkness  ;  and  himself, 
previous  to  his  conversion,  as  deeply  plunged  in 
the  shades  as  any.  It  is  a  blessing  which  but 
few  are  favoured  with,  to  step,  almost  at  once, 
out  of  midnight  into  meridian  day.    He  was  tho- 


Sufficient  proof  his  num'rous  writings  give, 
And  those  who  heard  him  teach  and  saw  him  live 
Earth  still  enjoys  him,  tho'  his  soul  is  fled  : 
lite  name  is  deathless  tho'  his  dust  is  de^. 


JEROM  2ANCHIFS.  63 

roughly  experienced  in  the  divine  life  of  the  soul; 
and  an  happy  subject  of  that  internal  kingdom  of 
God.  which  lies  in  righteousness,  and  peace,  and 
joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  enabled  him  to  sus- 
tain that  impetus  of  opposition,  which  he  almost 
constantly  met  with.  Few  persons  have  ordina- 
rily borne  a  larger  share  of  the  cross,  and  perhaps 
none  ever  sustained  it  better.  In  him  were  hap- 
pily centred,  all  the  meek  benevolence  of  charity, 
and  all  the  adamantine  firmness  of  intrepidity  : 
qualities,  alas,  not  constantly  united  in  men  of 
orthodoxy  and  learning. 

He  was  intimately  conversant  with  the  writings 
of  the  fathers,  and  of  the  philosophers  of  that  and 
the  preceding  times.  His  modesty  and  humility 
were  singular.  No  man  was  ever  more  studious 
to  preserve  peace  in  the  church  of  Christ,  nor 
more  highly  relished  the  pleasures  of  learned  and 
religious  friendship.  For  some  time  before  his 
decease,  it  pleased  God  to  deprive  him  of  his  eye- 
sight :  for  this  I  take  to  be  the  meaning  of  the 
excellent  Melchior  Adamus  j*  to  whom  I  am  in- 
debted for  much  of  the  preceding  account.  His 
works,  which,  with  his  letters,  and  some  other 
small  pieces  included,  are  divided  into  nine 
tomes,  were  collected  and  published  by  his  exe- 
cutors some  years  after  his  death,  and  are  usually 
bound  together  in  three  volumes,  folio.  He  was 
twice  married,  and  had  several  children ;  none  of 


•  His  words  concerning-  Zanchy  are  ir,  eentcta  qM<e  nvnqaam 
etla  vcnit,  fato  Isaaci  oknteciw. 


■64  THE  LIFE   OF 

which,   so  far  as  I  can  find,  appear  to  have  sur 
vived  him. 

He  is  said  by  Mr.  Leigh,*  to  have  been  one 
u  of  the  most  scholastical  among  the  Protest- 
ants :"  which,  however,  may  be  questioned  ;  his 
style  and  manner  of  treating  an  argument  be- 
ing rather  plain  and  solid,  than  subtil  and  meta- 
physical. If  scholism  be  an  excellence  in  a  wri- 
ter, it  is  certain  that  the  elder  Spanhemius,  and 
the  great  Francis  Turretin,  have  since  much  ex- 
ceeded Zanchy  in  that  respect.  Our  learned 
countryman,  Mr.  Matthew  Poole,  terms  himf 
Theologus  non  e  multis ;  cujus  commentar'ia  sin- 
gulari  eruditione  atque  lacumine  composita,  anc- 
torem  suum  doctissimum  referunt :  u  A  divine  of 
the  first  class  ;  whose  expositions,  written  with 
extraordinary  learning  and  ability,  prove  him  to 
have  been  a  most  accomplished  scholar."  Even 
Mr.  Bayle,  who  never  seems  to  have  been  better 
pleased,  than  when  he  could  pick  an  hole  in  the 
gown  of  an  ecclesiastic,  though  himself  was  the 
son  of  one  ;  yet  allows  our  author  to  have  been 
**  one  of  the  most  celebrated  Protestant  divines, 
and  that  few  ministers  have  been  so  moderate 
as  he." 

Nor  must  I  omit  the  honour  put  upon  him  by 
our  university  of  Cambridge,  within  five  yeare 
after  his  death.     One   William  Barre«4  fellow 


•  Account  of  Rel.  and  Learn.  Men,  p.  370. 

f  Svnops.  Criticor.  vol.  iv.  part  2-  in  Przelocni.  ad  Lect 

t  See  Fuller's  Hist  of  Cambridge,  p.  150. 


JEROM   ZANCIIIUS  65 

t>f  Gonville  and  Caius  college,  ventured,  April 
29,  1595,  to  preach  an  Arminian  sermon,  in  the 
face  of  the  university,  at  St.  Mary's.  I  say,  ven- 
tured ;  for  it  was  a  bold  and  dangerous  attempt, 
at  that  time,  when  the  church  of  England  was  in  her 
purity,  for  any  man  to  propagate  Arminianism  :* 
and  indeed,  Barret  himself  paid  dear  for  his  inno- 
vating rashness  ;  which  ended  in  his  ruin.  The 
university  were  so  highly  offended,  both  at  his 
presumption  in  daring  to  avow  his  novel,  hetero- 
dox opinions,  and  for  mentioning  some  great  di- 
vines, among  whom  Zanchy  -was  one,  in  terms  of 
the  highest  rancour  and  disrespect,  that  he  was  en- 
joined to  make  a  public  recantation  in  that  very 
pulpit  from  whence   he  had  so  lately  vented  his 


*  As  every  reader  may  not  have  a  clear  determinate  idea 
of  what  Arminianism  precisely  is,  it  may  to  such  be  satifac- 
torv  to  know,  that  it  consists  chiefly  of  five  particulars.  (1.) 
The  Arminians  will  not  allow  election  to  be  an  eternal,  pe- 
-culiar,  unconditional  and  irreversible  act  of  God.  (2)  They 
assert,  that  Christ  died  equally  and  indiscriminately  for  every 
individual  of  mankind  ;  for  them  that  perish,  no  less  than  for 
them  that  are  saved,  (3.)  That  saving  grace  is  tendered  to 
tiie  acceptance  of  every  man  ;  which  he  may,  or  may  not  re- 
ceive, just  as  he  pleases.  Consequently,  (4.)  That  the  rege- 
nerating- power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  invincible,  but  is 
suspended  for  its  efficacy  on  the  will  of  man.  (5.)  That  saving 
grace  is  not  an  abiding  principle ;  but  that  those  who  are 
loved  of  God,  ransomed  by  Christ,  and  born  again  of  the 
Spirit,  may  (let  God  wish  and  strive  ever  so  much  to  the 
contrary)  throw  all  away,  and  perish  eternally  at  last. 

To  these,  many  Arminians  tack  avart  y  of  errors  hes:de. 
But  tie  above  may  be  considered  as  a  general  skeleton  vf  the 
leading  mistakes  winch  characterize  the  sect. 
6 


66  THE   LIFE    OF 

errors.     This  he  did  the  5th  of  May  following, 
Part  of  his  recantation  ran*  thus  :  "  Lastly,  I 


*  Postremo,  temere  hxc  verba  efludi  adversis  Johannem 
Calvinum,  virum  de  ecclesia  Christi  optime  meritum  j  Eum 
-nimirum  ansum  fuisse  sese  attollere  supra  altissimi  &  omni- 
potentis  Dei  vere  altissimum  et  omnipotent  Filium.    Quibus 
verbis  me  viro  doctissimo,  vereque  pio,  magnam  injuriam  fe- 
cisse  fateor  :   temeritatemque  banc  meam  ut  omnes  condone- 
tis,  humillime  precor.     Turn  etiam  quod  nonnulla  adversus 
P.  Martyrem,  Theodorum  Bezam,  Hieronymum  Zanchi- 
vm,  Franciscum  Junium,  ct  cateros  ejusdem  religionis,  Ec- 
clesite   nostrx   lumina  &  omamenta,  acerbissime  effuderim ; 
eos  odioso  nomine  appellans  Calvinistas,  &  aliis  verbis  igno- 
miniae   gravissimam  infamiae  notam  inurens.     Quos  quia  Ec- 
clesia nostra  merito  reveretur,  non  erat  aequum,  et  ego  eorum 
famam  violarem,  aut  existimationem  aliqua  ratione  imminue- 
rem  ;  aut  aliquos  e  nostris  dehortarer,  ne  eorum  doctissima 

scripta  legerent. 

Strype's  Life  of  W  bit  gift.  Appendix,  p.  186. 
I  cannot  help  observing  one  more  particular  respecting  this 
•famous  recantation,  wherein  the  recanter thus  expressed  him- 
self:  Secundo,  Petri  fidem  deficere  non  potuisse,  asserui ;  at 
aliorum  posse,  8cc.  i.  e.  "  I  asserted,  that  Peter's  faitli  indeed 
could  not  fail,  but  that  the  faith  of  other  believers  might ; 
whereas,  now  being  by  Christ's  own  word  brought  to  a  better 
and  sounder  mind,  I  acknowledge  that  Christ  prays  for  the 
faith  of  each  believer  in  particular  ;  and,  that  by  the  efficacy 
of  Christ's  prayer,  all  true  believers  are  so  supported,  that 
their  faith  cannot  fail."  Barret  asserted,  rank  Arminian  as 
he  was,  that  Peter's  faith  did  not  actually  fail.  But  we  have 
had  a  recent  instance  of  an  Arminian  preacher,  who  avers 
without  ceremony,  that  Peter's  faith  did  fail.  The  passage, 
Verbatim,  without  adding  a  jot,  or  diminishing  atitile,  stands 
thus:  "  Peter's  faith  failed,  though  Christ  himself  prayed  it 
might  not."  See  a  sermon  on  1  Cor.  ix.  27.  preached  before 
the  university  of  Oxford,  Feb.  19,  1769,  by  John  Allen,  M.  A* 
.rice-principal  of  Magdalen  Hail,  p.  17, 


JEROM    2ANCHIUS.  67 

rashly  uttered  these  words  against  John  Calvin, 
(a  person,  than  whom  none  has  deserved  better  of 
the  church,)  namely,  that  he  had  presumed  to  ex- 
alt himself  above  the  Son  of  God  j  in  saying 
which,  I  acknowledge  that  I  greatly  injured  that 
most  learned  and  truly  pious  man ;  and  I  do  most 
humbly  entreat,  that  ye  will  all  forgive  this  my 
rashness.  I  also  threw  out,  in  a  most  rancorous 
manner,  some  reflections  against  Peter  Martyr, 
Theodore  Beza,  Jerom  Zanchy,  Francis  Junius, 
and  others  of  the  same  religion,  who  were  the 
lights  and  ornaments  o/our  church  :  calling  them 
by  the  malicious  name  of  Calvinists,  and  brand- 
ing them  with  other  reproachful  terms.  I  did 
wrong  in  assailing  the  reputation  of  these  persons, 
and  in  endeavouring  to  lessen  the  estimation  in 
which  they  are  held,  and  in  dissuading  any  from 
reading  their  most  learned  works ;  seeing  our 
church  holds  these  divines  in  deserved  reverence" 
I  would  hope,  as  our  articles  of  religion  have 
not  been  changed  but  stand  just  as  they  did  at 
that  very  time,  that  the  church  of  England,  in 
the  year  1769,  still  considers  the  above  great  men 
(and  Zanchy  among  the  rest)  as  some  of  her  an- 
cient lights  and  ornaments  :    and  that  she 


This  is  Arminianism  double-distilled.  The  common  sim- 
ple Arminianism,  that  served  Barret,  and  Laud,  and  Heylin, 
will  not  do  now  for  our  more  enlightened  divines.  Whether 
Peter's  faith  failed  or  not,  that  Mr.  Allen's  modesty  has  fail- 
ed him,  is,  I  believe,  what  nobody  ean  deny. 


C8  THE  LIFE  OF  JEHOM  ZANCHIUfcV 

holds  them  and  their  writings,  in  the  same  di> 
served  reverence,  as  did  the  church  of  Eng- 
land in  the  vear  1595, 


OBSERVATIONS 


DIVINE   ATTRIBUTES; 

KECESSARY       TO      BE      PREMISED,      IN      ORDER      TO        OTJR 
BETTER    UNDERSTANDING    THE    DOCTRINE    OF 

PREDESTINATION. 

ALTHOUGH  the  great  and  ever-blessed  God 
is  a  being  absolutely  simple,  and  infinitely  remote 
from  all  shadow  of  composition  ;  he  is,  neverthe- 
less, in  condescension  to  our  weak  and  contract- 
ed faculties,  represented  in  scripture,  as  possess- 
ed of  divers  properties,  or  attributes,  which, 
though  seemingly  different  from  his  essence,  are 
in  reality  essential  to  him,  and  constitutive  to  his 
very  nature.. 

Of  these  attributes,  those  on  which  we  shall 
now  particularly  descant  (as  being  more  immedi- 
ately concerned  in  the  ensuing  subject,)  are  the 
following  ones;  1.  His  eternal  wisdom  and  fore- 
knowledge. 2.  The  absolute  freedom  and  liberty 
of  his  will.  3.  The  perpetuity  and  unchangeable- 
ness  both  of  himself  and  his  decrees.  4.  His  om- 
nipotence. 5.  His  justice.  6.  Hi&  mercy. 

.  Without  an  explication  of  these   the   doctrine 

of  predestination  cannot  be  so  well  understood  : 

we  shall,  therefore,  briefly  consider  them,  by  wav 

of  preliminarv  to  the  main  subject. 

6  * 


7a 

I.  With  respect  to  the  divine  wisdom  and  fore- 
knowledge, 1  shall  lay  down  the  following  posi- 
tions. 

Pos.  1.  God  is,  and  always  was,  so  perfectly 
wise,  hat  nothing  ever  did,  or  does,  or  can,  elude 
his  knowledge.  He  knew  from  all  eternity,  not 
only  what  he  himself  intended  to  do,  but  also 
what  he  would  incline  and  permit  others  to  do. 
Acts  xv.  1 8.  *  Known  unto  God  are  all  his 
works,  **'  *i&»i(&,  from  eternity." 

Pos.  2.  Consequently,  God  knows  nothing  now, 
nor  will  know  any  thing  hereafter,  which  he  did 
not  know  and  foresee  from  everlasting :  his  fore- 
knowledge being  co-eternal  with  himself,  and  ex- 
tending to  every  thing  that  is  or  shall  be  done. 
Heb.  iv.  13.  All  things,  which  comprises  past, 
present  and  future,  are  naked  and  open  to  the 
eyes  of  him  with  whom  we  have  to  do. 

Pos.  3.  This  foreknowledge  of  God  is  not 
conjectural  and  uncertain, (for  then  it  would  not  be 
foreknowledge)  but  most  sure  and  infallible  :  so 
that  whatever  he  foreknows  to  be  future,  shall  ne- 
cessarily and  undoubtedly  come  to  pass.  For 
his  knowledge  can  no  more  be  frustrated,  or  his 
wisdom  be  deceived,  than  he  can  cease  to  be  God. 
Nay,  ceuld  either  of  these  be  the  case,  he  actually 
%vould  cease  to  be  God ;  all  mistake  and  disap- 
pointment being  absolutely  incompatible  with  the 
divine  nature. 

Pos.  4.  The  influence  which  the  divine  fore- 
knowledge has  on  the  certain  futurition  of  the 
things  foreknown,  does  not  render  the  interven- 
tion of  second  causes  needless,  nor  destroy  the 
nature  of  the  things  themselves. 

My  meaning  is,  that  the  prescience  of  God 
does  not  lay  any  coercive  necessity  on  the  wills 
of  beings  na:urally  free.  For  inst-mce,  man, 
even  in  his  fallen  state,   is  endued  with  a  natural 


71 

freedom  of  will ;  yet  he  acts,  from  the  first  to  the 
last  moment  of  his  life,  in  absolute  subserviency 
(though,  perhaps  he  does  not  know  it,  nor  design 
it)  to  the  purposes  and  decrees  of  God  concern- 
ing him  :  notwithstanding  which,  he  is  sensible 
of  no  compulsion,  but  acts  as  freely  and  volunta- 
rily, as  if  he  was  sui  juris,  subject  to  no  control, 
and  absolutely  lord  of  himself.  This  made  Lu- 
ther*, after  he  had  shown  how  all  things  necessa- 
rily and  inevitably  come  to  pass,  in  consequence 
of  the  sovereign  will  and  infallible  foreknowledge 
of  God,  say,  that  "  We  should  carefully  distin- 
guish between  a  necessity  of  infallibility,  and  a 
necessity  of  coaction  ;  since  both  good  and  evil 
men,  though  by  their  actions  they  fulfil  the  de- 
cree and  appointment  of  God,  yet  are  not  forci- 
bly constrained  to  do  any  thing  but  act  willingly." 

Pos.  5.  God's  foreknowledge,  taken  abstract- 
edly, is  not  the  sole  cause  of  beings  and  events ; 
but  his  will  and  foreknowledge  together.  Hence 
we  find,  Acts  ii.  23.  that  his  determinate  counsel 
and  foreknowledge  act  in  concert ;  the  latter  re- 
sulting from,  and  being  founded  on,  the  former. 
We  pass  on, 

II.  To  consider  the  will  of  God  :  with  regard 
to  which  we  assert  as  follows. 

Pos.  1.  The  Deity  is  possessed  not  only  of 
infinite  knowledge,  but  likewise  of  absolute  li- 
berty of  will  :  so  that  whatever  he  does,  or  per- 
mits to  be  done,  he  does  and  permits  freely,  and 
of  his  own  good  pleasure. 

Consequently,  it  is  his  free  pleasure  to  permit 
sin  :  since,  without  his  permission,  neither  men 
nor  devils  can  do  any  thing.     Now,  to  permit, 


*  De  Scry-  Arb.  cap.  44", 


72 

is,  at  least,  the  same  as  not  to  hinder,  though  it 
be  in  our  power  to  hinder  if  we  please  :  and  this 
permission,  or  non-hindrance,  is  certainly  an  act 
of  the  divine  will.  Hence  Austin*  says,  "  Those 
things  which  seemingly  thwart  the  divine  will, 
are  nevertheless  agreeable  to  it ;  for  if  God  did 
not  permit  them,  they  could  not  be  done  :  and 
whatever  God  permits,  he  permits  freely  and 
willingly.  He  does  nothing,  neither  suffers  any 
thing  to  be  done,  against  his  own  will."  And 
Luther\  observes,  that  "  God  permitted  Adam 
to  fall  into  sin,  because  he  willed  that  he  should 

so  fall."  ,  '       . 

Pos.  2.  Although  the  will  of  God,  considered 
in  itself,  is  simply  one  and  the  same;  yet,  m 
condescension  to  the  present  capacities  of  men, 
the  divine  Will  is  very  properly  distinguished 
into  secret  and  revealed.  Thus  it  was  his  re- 
vealed will,  that  Pharaoh  should  let  the  Israel- 
ites go  ;  that  Abraham  should  sacrifice  his  son  ; 
and  that  Peter  should  not  deny  Christ,  but  as 
was  proved  by  the  event,  it  was  his  secret  will 
that  Pharaoh  should  not  let  Israel  go,  Exod.  iv. 
21.  that  Abraham  should  not  sacrifice  Isaac, 
Gen.  xxii.  12.  and  that  Peter  should  deny  his 
Lord,  Matt.  xxvi.  34. 

Pos,  3.  The  will  of  God  respecting  the  sal- 
vation and  condemnation  of  men,  is  never  con- 
trary to  itself;  he  immutably  wills  the  salvation 
of  the  elect,  and  vice  versa :  nor  can  he  ever 
vary  or  deviate  from  his  own  will  in  any  instance 
whatever,  so  as  that  that  should  be  done,  which 
he  willeth  not ;  or  that  not  be  brought  to  pass, 
which  he  willeth.  Isai.  xliv.  10.  My  counsel 
shall  stand,  and  I  will  do  all  my  pleasure.     Psalm 


*  Enchir  cap.  100.  t  De  Serv.  Art.  c.  15? 


.       73 

xxxiii.  11.  The  counsel  of  the  Lord  standetfo 
for  ever,  and  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  to  all  ge- 
nerations. Job  xxiii.  13,  14.  He  is  in  one  mindr 
who  can  turn  him  ?  and  what  his  soul  desireth, 
even  that  he  doth;  for  he  performeth  the  thing 
that  is  appointed  for  me  ;  and  many  such  things 
are  with  him.  Eph.  i.  11.  Being  predestinated, 
according  to  the  purpose  of  him,  who  worketh 
all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will. 

Thus,  for  instance,  Hophni  and  Phineas  heark- 
ened not  to  the  voice  of  their  father,  who  repro- 
ved them  for  their  wickedness,  because  the  Lord 
would  slay  them,  1  Sam.  ii.  25.  and  Sihon,  king 
of  Heshbon,  would  not  receive  the  peaceable 
message  sent  him  by  Moses,  because  the  Lord 
God  hardened  his  spirit,  and  made  his  heart  ob- 
stinate, that  he  might  deliver  him  into  the  hand 
of  Israel,  Deut.  ii.  26,  30.  Thus  also,  to  add  no 
more,  we  find  that  there  have  been,  and  ever  will 
be,  some  whose  eyes  God  blindeth,  and  whose 
hearts  he  hardeneth,  i.  e.  whom  God  permits  to 
continue  blind  and  hardened,  on  purpose  to  pre- 
vent their  seeing  with  their  eyes,  and  understand- 
ing with  their  hearts,  and  to  hinder  their  conver- 
sion to  God,  and  spiritual  healing  by  him,  isai, 
vl.  9.  John  xii.  39,  40. 

Pes.  4.  Becv.use  God's  xvill  of  precept  may 
in  some  instances  appear  to  thwart  his  xvill  of 
determination  ;  it  does  not  follow,  either,  1.  that 
he  mocks  his  creatures,  or,  2.  that  they  are  ex- 
cusable for  neglecting  to  observe  his  will  of 
command. 

(1.)  He  does  not  hereby  mock  his  creatures ; 
for,  if  men  do  not  believe  his  word,  nor  observe 
his  precepts,  the  fault  is  not  in  him,  but  in  them- 
selves ;  their  unbelief  and  disobedience  are  not 
owing  to  any  ill  mlused  into  them  by  God,  but 
to  the  vitiosity  of  their  depraved  nature,  and  the 


74 

the  perverseness  of  their  own  wills. '  Now,  if 
God  invited  all  men  to  come  to  him,  and  then 
shut  the  door  of  mercy  against  any  who  were  de- 
sirous of  entering ;  his  invitation  would  be  a 
mockery,  and  unworthy  of  himself:  but  we  insist 
on  it,  that  he  does  not  invite  all  men  to  come  to 
him  in  a  saving  way  :  and  that  every  individual 
person,  who  is,  through  his  gracious  influence  on 
his  heart,  made  willing  to  come  to  him,  shall, 
sooner  or  later  surely  be  saved  by  him,  and  that 
with  an  everlasting  salvation.  (2.)  Man  is  not 
excusable  for  neglecting  God's  will  of  command. 
Pharaoh  was  faulty,  and  therefore  justlv  punish- 
able for  not  obeying  God's  revealed  will,  though 
God's  secret  will  rendered  that  obedience  impos- 
sible. Abraham  would  have  committed  sin,  had 
he  refused  to  sacrifice  Isaac  ;  and  in  looking  to 
God's  secret  will,  would  have  acted  counter  to 
his  revealed  one.  So  Herod,  Pontius  Pilate,  and 
the  reprobate  Jews,  were  justly  condemned  for 
putting  Christ  to  death,  inasmuch  as  it  was  a 
most  notorious  breach  of  God's  revealed  will. 
"  Thou  shalt  do  no  murder ;"  yet,  in  slaying  the 
Messiah,  they  did  no  more  than  God's  hand  and 
his  counsel,  i.  e.  his  secret,  ordaining  will,  de- 
termined before  should  be  done,  Acts  iv.  27,  28. 
and  Judas  is  justly  punished  for  perfidiously  and 
wickedly  betraying  Christ,  though  his  perfidy  and 
wickedness  were  (but  not  with  iiis  design)  sub- 
servient to  the  accomplishment  of  the  decree  and 
word  of  God. 

The  brief  of  the  matter  is  this  ;  secret  things 
belong  to  God,  and  those  that  are  revealed  belong 
to  us  :  therefore,  when  we  meet  with  a  plain  pre- 
cept, we  should  simply  endeavour  to  obey  it,  with- 
out tarrying  to  inquire  into  God's  hidden  pur- 
pose. Venerable  Bucer,  after  taking  notice  how 
God  hardened  Pharaoh's  heart,  and  making  some 


$5 

observations  on  the  Apostle's  simile  of  a  potter' 
and  his  clay  ;  adds,*  that  '*  Though  God  has  at 
least  the  same  right  over  his  creatures,  and  is  at 
liberty  to  make  them  what  he  will,  and  direct 
them  to  the  end  that  pleaseth  himself,  according 
to  his  sovereign  and  secret  determination  ;  yet  it 
by  no  means  follows,  that  they  do  not  act  freely 
and  spontaneously,  or  that  the  evil  they  commit 
is  to  be  charged  on  God." 

Pos.  5.  God's  hidden  will  is  peremptory  and 
absolute  :  and  therefore  cannot  be  hindered  from 
taking  effect. 

God's  will  is  nothing  else  than  God  himself 
willing :  consequently,  it  is  omnipotent  and  un- 
frustrabfe.  Hence  we  find  it  termed  by  Austia 
and  the  schoolmen,  voluntas  omnipotentissima,  be- 
cause, whatever  God  wills,  cannot  fail  of  being 
effected.  This  made  Austin  say,f  "  Evil  men 
do  many  things  contrary  to  God's  revealed  will ; 
but  so. great  is  his  wisdom,  and  so  inviolable  his 
truth,  that  he  directs  all  things  into  those  chan- 
nels which  he  foreknew."  And  again,:}:  "  No 
free  will  of  the  creature  can  resist  the  will  of  God; 
for  man  cannot  so  will,  or  nill,  as  to  obstruct  the 
divine  determination,  or  overcome  the  divine 
power."  Once  more§  "  It  cannot  be  questioned, 
but  God  does  all  things,  and  ever  did  according 
to  his  own  purpose  :  the  human  will  cannot  resist 
him,  so  as  to  make  him  do  more  or  less  than  it 
is  his  pleasure  to  do,  quandoquidem  etiam  de  ipsh 
Jionibium  voluntatibus  quod  vult  facity  since  he 
does  what  he  pleases  even  with  the  wills  ol  men. 
Pos.  6.  Whatever  comes  to  pass,  comes  to  pass 
by  virtue    of   this  absolute,  omnipotent  will  of 


*  Bucer  ad  R-.jn.  ix.  f  De  Civ.  Dei.  1  22,  c.  JL- 

*  Ee  (Joir.  &.  Grat.  c.  1*  $  Ibid. 


76- 

■God,  which  is  the  primary  and  supreme  cause  of 
all  things.  Rev.  ix.  11.  "  Thou  hast  created  all 
things,  and  for  thy  pleasure  they  are,  and  were 
created."  Psalm  cxv.  3  "  Our  God  is  in  the 
heavens ;  he  hath  done  whatsoever  he  pleased." 
Dan.  iv.  35.  "  He  doth  according  to  his  will,  ia 
th?  army  of  heaven,  and  among  the  inhabitants 
of  the  earth ;  and  none  can  stay  his  hand,  or  say 
unto  him,  What  dost  thou  ?"  Psalm  cxxxv.  6. 
■"  Whatsoever  the  Lord  pleased,  that  did  he  in 
heaven,  and  in  earth,  in  the  seas,  and  deep 
places."  Mat.  x.  29.  "  Are  not  two  sparrows 
sold  for  a  farthing  ?  and  one  of  them  shall  not  fall 
to  the  ground  without  your  Father.  To  all 
which  Austin  subscribes  when  he  says,?*  "  No- 
thing is  done  but  what  the  Almighty  wills  should 
be  done,  either  efficiently  or  permissively."  As 
does  LutfteY',  whose  words  are  these,f  "This 
therefore  must  stand  ;  to  wit  the  unsearchable 
will  of  God,  without  which  nothing  exists  or  acts." 
And  again,  c.  160.  "  God  would  not  be  such,  if 
he  was  not  almighty,  and  if  any  thing  could  be 
done  without  him."  And  elsewhere,  c.  158.  he 
quotes  these  words  of  Erasmus  :  "  Supposing 
there  was  an  earthly  prince,  who  could  do  what- 
ever he  would,  and  none  were  able  to  resist  him  ; 
we  might  safely  say  of  such  an  one,  that  he  would 
certainly  fulfil  his  own  desire  :  in  like  manner, 
the  will  of  God,  which  is  the  first  cause  of  all 
things,  should  seem  to  lay  a  kind  of  necessity  up- 
on our  wills."  This  Luther  approves  of,  and  sub- 
joins, **  Thanks  be  to  God  for  this  orthodox  pas- 
sage in  Erasmus's  discourse  !  but,  if  this  be  true, 
what  becomes  of  his  doctrine  of  free  will,  which 
he  at  other  times  so   strenuously  contends  for  r" 


*  Tom.  3.  in  Encbi.  f  De  Serv.  Arb.  c.  14o- 


77 

Pos.  7.  The  will  of  God  is  so  the  cause  of  all 
things,  as  to  be  itself  without  cause  ;  for  nothing 
can  be  the  cause  of  that,  which  is  the  cause  of 
every  thing. 

So  that  the  divine  will  is  the  ne  plus  ultra  of 
all  our  inquiries  :  when  we  ascend  to  that  we  can 
go  no  farther.  Hence,  we  find  every  matter  re- 
solved ultimately  into  the  mere  sovereign  plea- 
sure of  God,  as  the  spring  and  occasion  of  what- 
soever is  done  in  heaven  and  earth.  Mat.  xi. 
25.  "  Thou  hast  hid  these  things  from  the  wise 
and  prudent,  and  hast  revealed  them  unto  babes  : 
even  so,  Father,  for  so  it  seemed  good  in  thy 
sight."  Luke  xii.  32.  "It  is  your  Father's  good 
pleasure  to  give  you  the  kingdom."  Mat.  viii.  3. 
"  I  will,  be  thou  clean."  Mark  iii.  13.  "  He  went 
up  into  a  mountain,  and  called  unto  him  whom  he 
would."  Jam.  i.  18.  "  Of  his  own  will  begat  he 
us,  with  the  word  of  truth."  John  i.  13. 
"  Which  were  born  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  wiH 
of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God." 
Rom.  ix.  15,  18.  "I  will  have  mercy  on  whom  I 
will  have  mercy,  and  I  will  have  compassion  on 
whom  I  will  have  compassion.  Therefore  he  hath 
mercy  on  whom  he  will  have  mercy,  and  whom 
he  will  he  hardeneth."  And  no  wonder  that  the 
will  of  God  should  be  the  main  spring  that  sets 
all  inferior  wheels  in  motion,  and  should  like- 
wise be  the  rule  by  which  he  goes  in  all  his  deal- 
ings with  his  creatures  ;  since  nothing  out  of  God, 
i.  e.  exterior  to  himself,  can  possibly  induce  him 
to  will  or  nill  one  thing  rather  than  another. 
Deny  this,  and  you  at  one  stroke  destroy  his  im- 
mutability and  independency  :  since  he  can  never 
be  independent,  who  acts  pro  re  nata,  as  emergen- 
cy requires,  and  whose  will  is  suspended  on  that 
of  others  :  not  unchangeable,  whose  purposes  vary 
arid  take  all  shapes,  according  as  the  persons  or 
•7 


78 

things  vary,  who  are  the  objects  of  those  purpo- 
ses. The  only  reason,  then,  that  can  be  assign- 
ed, why  the  Deity  does  this,  or  omits  that,  is, 
because  it  is  his  own  free  pleasure.  Luther^  in 
answer  to  that  question,  "  Whence  it  was,  that 
Adam  was  permitted  to  fall,  and  corrupt  his 
whole  posterity,  when  God  could  have  prevent- 
ed his  falling,"  &c.  says,  "  God  is  a  Being,  whose 
will  acknowledges  no  cause  :  neither  is  it  for  us 
to  prescribe  rules  to  his  sovereign  pleasure,  or 
call  him  to  account  for  what  he  does.  He  has 
neither  supei'ior  nor  equal ;  and  his  will  is  the 
rule  of  all  things.  He  did  not  therefore  will  such 
and  such  things,  because  they  were  in  themselves 
right,  and  he  was  bound  to  will  them  ;  but  they 
are  therefore  equitable  and  right,  because  he  wills 
them.  The  will  of  man  indeed  may  be  influ- 
enced and  moved  ;  but  God's  will  never  can.  To 
assert  the  contrary  is  to  undeify  him."  Bucer 
likewise  observes,!  "  God  has  no  other  motive 
for  what  he  does,  than  ipsa  voluntas,  his  own 
mere  will ;  which  will  is  so  far  from  being  un- 
righteous, that  it  is  justice  itself." 

Pos.  8.  Since,  as  was  lately  observed,  the  de- 
termining will  of  God  being  omnipotent,  cannot 
be  obstructed  or  made  void ;  it  follows,  that  he 
never  did,  nor  does  he  now,  will  that  every  indi- 
vidual of  mankind  should  be  saved. 

If  this  was  his  will,  not  one  single  soul  could 
ever  be  lost :  (for  who  hath  resisted  his  will  r) 
and  he  would  surely  afford  all  men  those  effectual 
means  of  salvation,  without  which  it  cannot  be 
had.  Now  God  could  afford  these  means  as  ea- 
sily to  all  mankind  as  to  some  only  :  but  experi- 
ence proves  that  he  does  not ;    and  the  reason  is 


*  De  Serv.  Arb.  c  153.  |  Ad  Rem.  ix. 


79 


equally  plain,  namely,  that  he  will  not :  for  what- 
soever the  Lord  pleaseth,  that  does  he  in  heaven 
and  on  earth.  It  is  said,  indeed,  by  the  apostle, 
that  God  would  have  all  men  saved,  and  come  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth  ?  i.  e.  as  Austin,* 
consonantly  with  other  scriptures,  explains  the 
passage,  "  God  will  save  some  out  of  the  whole 
race  of  mankind,"  that  is,  persons  of  all  nations, 
kindreds  and  tongues.  Nay,  he  will  save  all 
men  ;  i.  e.  as  the  same  father  observes,  M  every 
kind  of  men,  or  men  of  every  kind,"  namely,  the 
election  of  grace,  be  they  bond  or  free,  noble  or 
ignoble,  rich  or  poor,  male  or  female.  Add  to 
this,  that  it  evidently  militates  against  the  majes- 
ty, omnipotence,  and  supremacy  of  God,  to  sup- 
pose that  he  can  either  will  any  thing  in  vain,  or 
that  any  thing  can  take  effect  against  his  will : 
therefore  Bucer  observes  very  rightly,  ad  Ro7n. 
ix.  "  God  doth  not  will  the  salvation  of  repro- 
bates, seeing  he  hath  not  chosen  them,  neither 
created  them  to  that  end."  Consonant  to  which 
are  those  words  of  Luther,]  "  This  mightily  of- 
fends our  rational  nature,  that  God  should,  of  his 
own  mere  unbiassed  will,  leave  some  men  to 
themselves,  harden  them,  and  then  condemn 
them  :  but  he  has  given  abundant  demonstration, 
and  does  continually,  that  this  is  really  the  case; 
namely,  that  the  sole  cause  why  some  are  saved, 
and  others  perish,  proceeds  from  his  willing  the 
salvation  of  the  former,  and  the  perdition  of  the 
latter,  according  to  that  of  Paul,  '  He  hath  mere)* 
on  whom  he  will  have  mercy,  and  whom  he  will 
he  hardeneth.' " 


*  Enchir.  c.  103.  8;  de  Gprr.  8;  Gr.  c   14.     j  Be  Serv. 
Arb.  c    161. 


80 

Pos.  9.  As  God  doth  not  will  that  each  indivi- 
dual of  mankind  should  be  saved ;  so  neither  did 
he  will  that  Christ  should  properly  and  immedi- 
ately die  for  each  individual  of  mankind  ;  whence 
it  follows,  that  though  the  blood  of  Christ,  from 
its  own  intrinsic  dignity,  was  sufficient  for  the 
redemption  of  all  men,  yet,  in  consequence  of  his 
Father's  appointment,  he  shed  it  intentionally, 
and  therefore  effectually  and  immediately,  for  the 
'elect  only. 

This  is  self-evident.  God,  as  we  have  before 
proved,  wills  not  the  salvation  of  every  man  :  but 
he  gave  his  Son  to  die  for  them  whose  salvation 
he  willed  ;  therefore  his  Son  did  not  die  for  every 
man.  All  those,  for  whom  Christ  died,  are  sa- 
ved; and  the  divine  justice  indispensably  requires 
that  to  them  the  benefits  of  his  death  should  be 
imparted;  but  only  the  elect  are  saved;  they 
only  partake  of  those  benefits  ;  consequently,  for 
them  only  he  died  and  intercedes.  The  aposde, 
Rom.  viii.  asks,  "  Who  shall  lay  any  thing  to 
the  charge  of  God's  elect?  it  is  God  that  justi- 
ces," i.  e.  his  elect,  exclusively  of  others :  "  who 
is  he  that  condemneth  ?  It  is  Christ  that  died" 
for  them,  exclusively  of  others.  The  plain  mean- 
ing of  the  passage  is,  that  those  whom  God  jus- 
tifies, and  for  whom  Christ  died,  (justification 
and  redemption  being  of  exactly  the  same  extent,) 
cannot  be  condemned.  These  privileges  are  ex- 
pressly restricted  to  the  elect :  therefore  God 
justifies  and  Christ  died  for  them  alone. 
t  In  the  same  chapter,  Paul  asks  ;  "  He  that 
spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for 
us  all,  (i.  e.  for  all  us  elect  persons)  how  shall  he 
not,  with  him,  also  freely  give  us  all  things  ?" 
i.  e.  salvation,  and  all  things  necessary  to  it. 
Now,  it  is  certain  that  these  are  not  given  to 


81 

every  individual ;  and  yet,  if  Paul  says  true, 
they  are  given  to  all  those  for  whom  Christ  was 
delivered  to  death ;  consequently,  he  was  not  de- 
livered to  death  for  every  individual.  To  the 
same  purpose  St,  Austin  argues,  in  Johan.  tract. 
45.  col.  335.  Hence  that  saying  of  Ambrose,* 
"  si  non  credis,  non  tibi  passus  est"  i.  e.  if  you 
are  an  unbeliever,  Christ  did  not  die  for  you. 
Meaning,  that  whoever  is  left  under  the  power 
of  final  unbelief,  is  thereby  evidenced  to  be  one 
of  those  for  whom  Christ  did  not  die  :  but  that 
all  for  whom  he  suffered,  shall  be,  in  this  life, 
sooner  or  later,  endued  with  faith.  The  church 
of  Smyrna,  in  their  letter  to  the  diocese  of  Pon- 
tus,  insist  every  where  on  the  doctrine  of  special 
redemption.!  Bucer,  in  all  parts  of  his  works, 
observes,  that  "  Christ  died  restrictively  for  the 
elect  only  ;   but  for  them  universally." 

Pos.  10.  From  what  has  been  laid  down,  it 
follows,  that  Austin,  Luther,  Bucer,  the  scholas- 
tic divines,  and  other  learned  writers,  are  not  to 
be  blamed  for  asserting  that  u  God  may,  in  some 
sense,  be  said  to  will  the  being  and  commission 
of  sin."  For,  was  this  contrary  to  his  deter- 
mining will  of  permission,  either  he  would  not 
be  omnipotent,  or  sin  could  have  no  place  in  the 
world  :  but  he  is  omnipotent,  and  sin  has  place 
in  the  world  ;  which  it  could  not  have,  if  God 
willed  otherwise  ;  for  "  who  hath  resisted  his 
will  ?"  Rom.  ix.  No  one  can  deny  that  God 
permits  sin :  but  he  neither  permits  it  ignorantly, 
nor  unwillingly ;  therefore,  knowingly  and  wil- 
lingly. Vid  Aust.  Enchir.  c.  96-  Luther  stead- 
fastly maintains  this  in  his  book  de  Scrv.  Arbitr. 
and  Bucer  in  Rom.  1.     However,  it  should  be 

*  Ambros.  Tom.  2.  de  fid.  ad.  Grat.  1.  4.  a,  I 
|  Vid.  Euseb.  Hist.  1.  4.  c  10. 

7  * 


82 

carefully  noticed,  (1.)  That  God's  permission  of 
sin  does  not  arise  from  his  taking  delight  in  it : 
on  the  contrary,  sin,  as  sin,  is  the  abominable 
thing  that  his  soul  hateth  :  and  his  efficacious 
permission  of  it  is  for  wise  and  good  purposes. 
Whence  that  observation  of  Austin,*  M  God, 
who  is  no  less  omnipotent  than  he  is  supremely 
and  perfectly  holy,  would  never  have  permitted 
evil  to  enter  among  his  works,  but  in  order  that 
he  might  do  good  even  with  that  evil,"  i.  e.  over- 
rule it  for  good  in  the  end.  (2.)  That  God's  free 
and  voluntary  permission  of  sin  lays  no  man 
under  any  forcible  or  compulsive  necessity  of 
committing  it :  consequently,  the  Deity  can  by 
no  means  be  termed  the  author  of  moral  evil  ,*  to 
which  he  is  not,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word, 
accessary,  but  only  remotely  or  negatively  so,  in- 
asmuch as  he  could,  if  he  pleased,  absolutely 
prevent  it. 

We  should,  therefore,  be  careful  not  to  give 
up  the  omnipotence  of  God,  under  a  pretence  of 
exalting  his  holiness  :  he  is  infinite  in  both,  and 
therefore  neither  should  be  set  aside  or  obscured. 
To  say  that  God  absolutely  nills  the  being  and 
commission  of  sin,  while  experience  convinces 
us  that  sin  is  acted  every  day,  is  to  represent 
the  Deity  as  a  weak,  impotent  being,  who  would 
fain  have  things  go  otherwise  than  they  do,  but 
cannot  accomplish  his  desire.  On  the  other 
hand,  to  say  that  he  willeth  sin,  doth  not  in  the 
least  detract  from  the  holiness  and  rectitude 
of  his  nature  ;  because,  whatever  God  wills,  as 
well  as  whatever  he  does,  cannot  be  eventually 
evil :  materially  evil  it  may  be  j  but,  as  was  just 
said,  it  must,  ultimately,  be  directed  to  some 


*  Enciur.  c  11. 


83 

wise  and  just  end,  otherwise  he  could  not  will 
it :  for  his  will  is  righteous  and  good,  and  the 
sole  rule  of  right  and  wrong,  as  is  often  observed 
by  Austin,  Luther,  and  others. 

Pos.  11.  In  consequence  of  God's  immutable 
will  and  infallible  foreknowledge,  whatever  things 
come  to  pass,  come  to  pass  necessarily  ;  though, 
with  respect  to  second  causes,  and  us  men,  many 
things  are  contingent :  i.  e»  unexpected,  and 
seemingly  accidental. 

That  this  was  the  doctrine  of  Luther,  none 
can  deny,  who  are  in  any  measure  acquainted 
with  his  works :  particularly  with  his  treatise 
De  servo  Arbitrio,  or  free  will  a  slave  :  the  main 
drift  of  which  book  is,  to  prove,  that  the  will  of 
man  is  by  nature  enslaved  to  evil  only,  and,  be- 
cause it  is  fond  of  that  slavery,  is  therefore  said 
to  be  free.  Among  other  matters,  he  proves 
there,  that,  "  whatever  man  does,  he  does  neces- 
sarily, though  not  with  anv  sensible  compulsion : 
and  that  we  can  only  do  what  God  from  eternity 
willed  and  foreknew  he  should ;  which  will  of 
God  must  be  effectual,  and  his  foresight  must  be 
certain."  Hence  we  find  him  saying,*  "  It  is 
most  necessary  and  salutary  for  a  Christian  to  be 
assured,  that  God  foreknows  nothing  uncer- 
tainly ;  but  that  he  determines,  and  foresees,  and 
acts,  in  all  things,  according  to  his  own  eternal, 
immutable, and  infallible  will;"  adding  u  Hereby, 
as  with  a  thunderbolt,  is  man's  free  will  thrown 
down  and  destroyed."  A  little  after,  he  shews 
in  what  sense  he  took  the  word  necessity ;  "  By 
it,"  says  he,  "  I  do  not  mean  that  the  will  suf- 
fers any  forcible  constraint,  or  coaction ;  but  the 
infallible  accomplishment  of  those  things,  which 


*  Cap.  17,  in  Resp.  ad.  prxf- 


84 


the  immutable  God  decreed  and  foreknew  con- 
cerning us."     He  goes  on  :  «  Neither  the  divine 
nor  human  will  does  any  thing  by  constraint ; 
but,  whatever  man  does,  be  it  good  or  bad,  he 
does  with  as  much  appetite  and  willingness,  as  if 
his  wil   was  really  free.     But,  after  all,  the  will 
of  Cxod  is  certain  and  unalterable,  and  is  the  go- 
verness  of    ours."      Exactly   consonant   to   all 
which  are  those  words  of  Luther's  friend  and 
tellow-labourer,  Melancthon  :{  »  All  things  turn 
out  according  to  divine  predestination;  not  only 
the  works  we  do  outwardly,  but  even  the  thoughts 
we  think  inwardly  :"  adding,   in  the  same  place, 
1  here  is  no  such  thing  as  chance,  or  fortune  ; 
nor  is  there  a  readier  way  to  gain  the  fear  of 
Ooci,  and  to  put  our  whole  trust  in  him,  than  to 
be  thoroughly  versed  in  the  doctrine  of  predes- 
tination."    I  could  cite,    to    the    same   purpose 
Austin    Aquines,  and  many  other  learned  men  • 
but,    for  brevity  sake,    forbear.     That  this  is  the 
doctrine  of  scripture,  every  adept  in  those  sacred 
books  cannot  but  acknowledge.      See  particular- 
ly, Psalm  cxxxv.  6.  Mat.    x.  29.  Prov.    xvi.  1. 
Mat.  xxvi.  54.  Luke  xxii.  22.  Acts  iv.  28.  Eph. 
t,  11.  Isa.  xlvi.  10. 

Pos.  12.  As  God  knows  nothing  now  which  he 
did  not  know  from  all  eternity,  so  he  wills  nothing 
now  which  he  did  not  will  from  everlasting. 

I  his  position  needs  no  explanation  nor  enforce- 
ment; it  being  self-evident,  that  if  anv  thins  can 
accede  to  God  de  novo,  i.  e.  if  he  can  at  anv  time 
be  wiser  than  he  always  was,  or  will  that  at  one 
time,  which  he  did  not  will  from  all  eternity; 
^ese  dreadful  consequences  must  ensue,  (lA 
Inat  the  knowledge  of  God  is  not  perfect,  since 


i  In  Eph.  1. 


85 

what  is  absolutely  perfect  non  rccipit  mag-is  & 
■minus,  cannot  admit  either  of  addition  or  detrac- 
tion. If  I  add  to  any  thing,  it  is  from  a  supposal 
that  that  thing  was  not  complete  before  ;  if  I  de- 
tract from  it,  it  is  supposed  that  that  detraction 
renders  it  less  perfect  than  it  was.  But  the  know- 
ledge of  God  being  infinitely  perfect,  cannot  con- 
sistently with  that  perfection  be  either  increased 
or  lessened.  (2.)  That  the  will  of  God  is  fluctu- 
ating, mutable.,  and  unsteady  ;  consequently,  that 
God  himself  is  so,  his  will  coinciding  with  his 
essence,  contrary  to  the  avowed  assurances  of 
scripture,  and  the  strongest  dictates  of  reason,  as 
we  shall  presently  show  when  we  come  to  treat  of 
the  divine  immutability. 

Pos.  13.  The  absolute  will  of  God  is  the  ori- 
ginal spring  and  efficient  cause  of  his  people's  sal- 
vation. 

I  say  the  original  and  efficient  j  For  sensu  com- 
plexo,  there  are  other  intermediate  causes  of  their 
salvation,  which  however  all  result  from,  and  are 
subservient  to,  this  primary  one,  the  will  of  God. 
Such  are  his  everlasting  choice  of  them  to  eternal 
life,  the  eternal  covenant  of  grace  entered  into  by 
the  Trinity  in  behalf  of  the  elect,  the  incarnation, 
obedience,  death  and  intercession  of  Christ  for 
them  all,  which  are  so  many  links  in  the  great 
chain  of  causes ;  and  not  one  of  these  can  be  ta- 
ken away  without  marring  and  subverting  the 
whole  gospel  plan  of  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ. 
We  see  then,  that  the  free,  unbiassed,  sovereign 
will  of  God  is  the  root  of  this  tree  of  life,  which 
bears  so  many  glorious  branches,  and  yields  such 
salutary  fruits :  He  therefore  loved  the  elect,  and 
ordained  them  to  life,  because  he  would,  according 
to  that  of  the  apostle,  "  having  predestinated  us 
—  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  his  will." 
Eph.  i.  3.     Then,  next  after  God's  covenant  for 


86 

his  people,  and  promises  to  them,  comes  in  the 
infinite  merit  of  Christ's  righteousness  and  atone- 
ment; for  we  were  chosen  to  salvation  in  him  as 
members  of  his  mystic  body,  and  through  him  as 
our  surety  and  substitute,  by  whose  vicarious  obe- 
dience to  the  moral  law,  and  submission  to  its 
curse  and  penalty,  all  we  whose  names  are  in  the 
book  of  life  should  never  incur  the  divine  hatred, 
or  be  punished  for  our  sins,  but  continue  to  eter- 
nity, as  we  were  from  eternity  heirs  of  God  and 
joint  heirs  with  Christ.  But  still  divine  grace 
and  favour  (and  God  extends  these  to  whom  he 
will)  must  be  considered  as  what  gave  birth  to 
the  glorious  scheme  of  redemption,  according  to 
what  our  Lord  himself  teaches  us,  John  iii.  16. 
il  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only 
begotten  Son,"  &c.  and  that  of  the  apostle,  1  John 
iv.  9.  "  In  this  was  manifested  the  love  of  God 
towards  us,  because  that  he  sent  his  only  begotten 
Son  into  the  world  that  we  might  live  through 
him." 

Pos.  14.  Since  this  absolute  will  of  God  is 
both  immutable  and  omnipotent,  we  infer  that  the 
salvation  of  every  one  of  the  elect  is  most  infalli- 
bly certain,  and  can  by  no  means  be  prevented. 
This  necessarily  follows  from  what  we  have  al- 
ready asserted  and  proved  concerning  the  divine 
will,  which  as  it  cannot  be  disappointed  or  made 
void,  must  undoubtedly  secure  the  salvation  of 
all  whom  God  wills  should  be  saved. 

From  the  whole  of  what  has  been  delivered 
under  this  second  head,  I  would  observe,  That 
the  genuine  tendency  of  these  truths  is,  not  to 
make  men  indolent  and  careless,  or  lull  them  to 
sleep  on  the  lap  of  presumption  and  carnal  secu- 
rity;  but,  (1.)  To  fortify  the  people  of  Christ 
against  the  attacks  of  unbelief,  and  the  insults  of 
their  spiritual  enemies  :  and  what  is  so  fit  to 


87 

guard  them  against  these,  as  the  comfortable  per- 
suasion of  God's  unalterable  will  to  save  them, 
and  of  their  unalienable  interest  in  the  sure  mer- 
cies of  David  ?  (2.)  To  withdraw  them  entirely 
from  all  dependence,  whether  on  themselves  or  any 
creature  whatever  ;  to  make  them  renounce  their 
own  righteousness,  no  less  than  their  sins  in  point 
of  reliance,  and  to  acquiesce  sweetly  and  safely  in 
the  certain  perpetuity  of  his  rich  favour.  (3.) 
To  excite  them  from  a  trust  of  his  good  will  to- 
ward them,  to  love  that  God,  who  hath  given 
such  great  and  numberless  proofs  of  his  love  to 
men  ;  and  in  all  their  thoughts,  words  and  works, 
to  aim  as  much  as  possible  at  his  honour  and 
glory. 

We  were  to  consider, 
III.  The  unchangeableness  which  is   essential 
to  himself  and  his  decrees. 

Pos.  1.  God  is  essentially  unchangeable  in  him- 
self: were  he  otherwise  he  would  be  confessedly 
imperfect,  since  whoever  changes,  must  change 
either  for  the  better  or  for  the  worse  ;  whatever 
alteration  any  being  undergoes,  that  being  must 
ipso  facto,  either  become  more  excellent  than  it 
was,  or  lose  some  of  the  excellency  which  it  had. 
But  neither  of  these  can  be  the  case  with  the 
Deity  :  He  cannot  change  for  the  better,  for  that 
would  necessarily  imply  that  he  was  not  perfectly 
good  before  ;  he  cannot  change  for  the  worse, 
for  then  he  could  not  be  perfectly  good  after  that 
change.  Ergo,  God  is  unchangeable.  And  this 
is  the  uniform  voice  of  scripture.  Mai.  iii.  6. 
u  I  am  the  Lord,  I  change  not."  James  i.  17". 
u  With  him  is  no  variableness,  neither  shadow  of 
turning."  Psalm  cii.  27.  u  Thou  art  the  same, 
and  thy  years  shall  have  no  end." 

Pos.  2.  God  is  likewise  absolutely  unchange- 
able with  regard  to  his  purposes  and  promises- 


Numb,  xxiii.  19.  k  God  is  not  a  man,  that  he 
should  lie  ;  neither  the  son  of  man,  that  he  should 
repent:  hath  he  said,  and  shall  he  not  do  it.?  or, 
hath  he  spoken,  and  shall  he  not  make  it  good  ?" 

1  Sam.  xv.  29  "  The  Strength  of  Israel  will  not 
lie,  nor  repent ;  for  he  is  not  a  man,  that  he  should 
repent."  Job  xsiii.  13.  "  He  is  in  one  mind, 
and  who  can  turn  him  ?"  Ezek.  xxiv.  14.  "  I,  the 
Lord,  have  spoken  it,  it  shall  come  to  pass,  and  I 
will  do  it  j  I  will  not  go  back,  neither  will  I  spare, 
neither  will  I  repent."  Rom.  xi.  29.  "  The  gilts 
and    calling    of  God    are    without   repentance." 

2  Tim.  ii.  1.3.  "  He  abideth  faithful,  and  cannot 
deny  himself." 

By  the  purpose  or  decree  of  God,  we  mean  his 
determinate  counsel,  whereby  he  did  from  all 
eternity  preordain  whatever  he  should  do,  or 
would  permit  to  be  done  in  time.  In  particular, 
it  signifies  his  everlasting  appointment  of  some 
men  to  life,  and  of  others  to  death ,-  which  ap- 
pointment flows  entirely  from  his  own  free  and 
sovereign  will.  Rom.  ix.  "  The  children  not  yet 
being  born,  neither  having  done  any  good  or  evil, 
(that  the  purpose  of  God  according  to  election, 
might  stand,  not  of  works,  but  of  him  that  calleth) 
it  was  said,  the  elder  shall  serve  the  younger :  as 
it  is  written,  Jacob  have  I  loved,  but  Esau  have 
I  hated." 

The  apostle  then,  in  the  very  next  words,  anti- 
cipates an  objection  which  he  foresaw  men  of 
corrupt  minds  would  make  to  this  :  "  What  shall 
we  say  then  ?  is  there  unrighteousness  with  God?" 
which  he  answers  with,  God  forbid  !  and  resolves 
the  whole  of  God's  procedure  with  his  creatures 
into  his  own  sovereign  and  independent  will  : 
For  he  said  to  Moses,  "  I  will  have  mercy  on 
whom  I  will  have  mercy,  and  I  will  have  com- 
passion on  whom  I  will  have  compassion.'' 


s& 


We  assert,  that  the  decrees  of  God  are  not  only 
immutable  as  to  himself,  it  being  inconsistent  with 
his  nature  to  alter  in  his  purposes,  or  change  his 
mind  ;  but  that  they  are  immutable  likewise  with 
respect  to  the  objects  of  those  decrees ;  so  that 
whatsoever  od  hath  determined  concerning  every 
individual  person  or  thing,  shall  surely  and  in- 
fallibly be  accomplished  in  and  upon  them. 
Hence  we  find,  that  he  actually  sheweth  mercy 
on  whom  he  decreed  to  shew  mercy,  and  harden- 
eth  whom  he  resolved  to  harden,  Rom.  ix.  18. 
"  For  his  counsel  shall  stand,  and  he  will  do  all 
his  pleasure,"  Isa.  xlvi.  10.  Consequently,  his 
eternal  predestination  of  men  and  things  must 
be  immutable  as  himself,  and,  so  far  from  being 
reversible,  can  never  admit  of  the  least  variation. 

Pos.  3.  '*  Although,"  to  use  the  words  of  Gre- 
gorv,  u  God  never  swerves  from  his  decree,  yet 
he  often  varies  in  his  declarations  :"  That  is  al- 
ways sure  and  immoveable  ;  these  are  sometimes 
seemingly  discordant.  So,  when  he  gave  sentence 
against  the  Ninevites  by  Jonah,  saying,  Yet  forty 
days,  and  Nineveh  shall  be  overthrown,  the 
meaning  of  the  words  is  not  that  God  absolutely 
intended,  at  the  end  of  that  space,  to  destroy  the 
city  ;  but  that,  should  God  deal  with  those  people 
according  to  their  deserts,  they  would  be  totally 
extirpated  from  the  earth  :  and  should  be  so  ex- 
tirpated, unless  they  rep  nted  speedily. 

Likewise,  when  he  told  King  Hezekiah,  by  the 
prophet  Isaiah,  Set  thine  house  in  order,  for 
thou  shalt  die,  and  not  live  ;  the  meaning  was, 
that  with  respect  to  second  causes,  and  consider- 
ing the  king's  bad  state  of  health  and  emaciated 
constitution,  he  could  not,  humanly  speaking,  live 
much  longer.  But  still,  the  event  shewed  that 
God  had  immutably  determined  that  he  should 
live  fifteen  years  more  ;  and,  in  order  to  that,  had 

8 


yo 

put  it  into  his  heart  to  pray  for  the  blessing  de- 
creed :  just  as  in  the  case  of  Nineveh,  lately  men- 
tioned, God  had  resolved  not  to  overthrow  that 
city  then ;  and  in  order  to  the  accomplishment  of 
his  own  purpose  in  a  way  worthy  of  himself, 
made  the  ministry  of  Jonah  the  means  of  leading 
that  people  to  repentance.  All  which,  as  it  shews 
that  God's  absolute  predestination  does  not  set 
aside  the  use  of  means  ;  so  does  it  likewise  prove, 
that  however  various  the  declarations  of  God 
may  appear,  (to  wit,  when  they  proceed  on  a  re- 
gard had  to  natural  causes)  his  counsels  and  de- 
signs stand  firm  and  immoveable,  and  can  neither 
admit  of  alteration  in  themselves,  nor  of  hin- 
drance in  their  execution.  See  this  farther  explain- 
ed by  Bucer,  in  Rom.  ix.  where  you  will  find  the 
certainty  of  the  divine  appointments  solidly  as- 
serted and  unanswerably   vindicated.     We  now 

come, 

IV.  To  consider  the  Omnipotence  of  God. 

Pos.  1.  God  is,  in  the  most  unlimited  and  ab- 
solute sense  of  the  word,  Almighty.  Jer.  x  xii. 
17.  Behold,  thou  hast  made  the  heaven  and  the 
earth  by  thy  great  power  and  stretched-out  arm, 
and  there  is  nothing  too  hard  for  thee.  Mat. 
xix.  26.  With  God  all  things  are  possible.  The 
schoolmen  very  properly  distinguish  the  omni- 
potence of  God  into  absolute  and  actual ;  by  the 
former,  God  might  do  many  things  which  he 
does  not ;  by  the  latter,  he  actually  does  whatever 
he  will*  For  instance  ;  God  might  by  virtue  of 
his  absolute  power,  have  made  more  worlds  than 
he  has.  He  might  have  eternally  saved  every 
individual  of  mankind,  without  reprobating  any  : 
on  the  other  hand,  he  might,  and  that  with  the 
strictest  justice,  have  condemned  all  men,  and 
saved  none.  He  could,  had  it  been  his  pleasure, 
have  prevented  the  fall  of  angels  and  men,   and 


91 

thereby  have  hindered  sin  from  having  footing  in 
and  among  his  creatures.  By  virtue  of  his  actual 
power,  he  made  the  universe  ;  executes  the  whole 
counsel  of  his  will,  both  in  heaven  and  earth  ; 
governs  and  influences  both  men  and  things,  ac- 
cording to  his  own  pleasure  ;  fixes  the  bounds 
which  they  shall  not  pass  ;  and,  in  a  word,  work- 
eth  all  in  all,  Isa.  xlv.  7.  Amos  iii.  6.  John  v. 
17.  Acts  xvii.  26.     1  Cor  xii.  6. 

Pos.  2.  Hence  it  follows  that,  since  all  things 
are  subject  to  the  divine  control,  God  not  only 
works  efficaciously  on  his  elect,  in  order  that  they 
may  will  and  do  that  which  is  pleasing  in  his 
sight ;  but  does  likewise  frequently  and  power- 
fully suffer  the  wicked  to  fill  up  the  measure  of 
their  iniquities,  by  committing  fresh  sins.  Nay, 
he  sometimes,  but  for  wise  and  gracious  ends, 
permits  his  own  people  to  transgress  :  for  he  has 
the  hearts  and  wills  of  men  in  his  own  hand,  and 
inclines  them  to  good,  or  delivers  them  up  to  evil, 
as  he  sees  fit,  yet  without  being  the  author  of  sin  ; 
as  Luther,  Bucer,  Austin  and  others,  have  piously 
and  scripturally  taught. 

This  position  consists  of  two  parts  ;  (1.)  That 
God  efficaciously  operates  on  the  hearts  of  his 
elect,  and  is  thereby  the  sole  author  of  all  the  good 
they  do.  See  Eph.  iii.  20.  Phil.  ii.  13.  1  Thess. 
ii.  13.  Heb.  xiii.  21.  St.  Austin*  takes  no  few- 
er than  nineteen  chapters,  in  proving  that  what- 
ever good  is  in  men,  and  whatever  good  they  are 
enabled  to  do,  is  solely  and  entirely  of  God  ;  who, 
says  he,  "  works  in  holy  persons  all  their  good 
desires,  their  pious  thoughts,  and  their  righteous 
actions ;  and  yet  these  holy  persons,  though  thus 
wrought  upon  by  God,  will  and  do  all  these  things 
freely :   for   it   is  he   who   rectifies   their  wills, 

*  De  Grat.  &.  lib.  Arb,  a  c  1.  usque  ad  c.  20. 


92 

which^  being  originally  evil,  are  made  good 
by  him ;  and  which  wills,  after  he  hath  set 
them  right  and  made  them  good,  he  directs 
to  good  actions  and  to  eternal  life ;  wherein 
he  does  not  force  their  wills,  but  makes  them 
willing."  (2.)  That  God  often  lets  the  wicked 
go  on  to  more  ungodliness  :  which  he  does,  1. 
Negatively,  by  withholding  that  grace,  which 
alone  can  restrain  them  from  evil.  2.  Remotely, 
by  the  providential  concourse  and  medi  ation  of 
second  causes  ;  which  second  causes,  meeting  and 
acting  in  concert  with  the  corruption  of  the  re- 
probate's unregenerate  nature,  produce  sinful 
effects.  3.  Judicially,  or  in  a  way  of  judgment. 
Prov.  xxi.  1.  "  The  king's  heart  is  in  the  hand  of 
the  Lord,  as  the  rivers  of  waters  ;  he  turneth  it 
whithersoever  he  will :"  And  if  the  king's  heart, 
why  not  the  hearts  of  all  men  ?  Lam.  iii.  38. 
a  Out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Most  High  proceedeth 
not  evil  and  good  ?"  Hence  we  find,  that  the  Lord 
bid  Shimei  curse  David,  2  Sam.  xvi.  10.  That  he 
moved  David  himself  to  number  the  people,  com- 
pare 1  Chron.  xxi.  1.  with  2  Sam.  xxiv.  1. 
Stirred  up  Joseph's  brethren  to  sell  him  into 
Egypt,  Gen.  1. 20.  Positively  and  immediately  har- 
dened the  heart  of  Pharaoh,  Ex.  iv.  21.  Deli- 
vered up  David's  wives  to  be  defiled  by  Absa- 
lom, 2  Sam.  xii.  11.  and  xvi.  22.  Sent  a  lying 
spirit  to  deceive  Ahab,  1  Kings  xxii.  20 — 23. 
And  mingled  a  perverse  spirit  in  the  midst  of 
Egypt,  i.  e.  made  that  nation  perverse,  obdurate 
and  stiffnecked,  Isai.  xix.  14.  To  cite  other  in- 
stances would  be  almost  endless,  and,  after  these, 
quite  unnecessary;  all  being  summed  up  in  that 
express  passage,  Isai.  xlv.  7.  I  make  peace  and 
create  evil;  I  the  Lord  do  all  these  things." 
See  farther,  1  Sam.  xvi.  14.  Psalm  cv.  25.  Jer. 
xiii.  12,  13.  Acts  ii.  23.  and  iv.  28.  Rom.  xi.  8. 


93 

2  Thess.  ii.  11.  Every  one  of  which  implies  more* 
than  a  bare  permission  of  sin.  Bucer  asserts  this, 
not  only  in  the  place  referred  to  below,  but  con- 
tinually throughout  his  works;  particularly  on 
Mat.  vi.  s.  2.  where  this  is  the  sense  of  his  com- 
ments on  that  petition,  lead  us  not  into  tempta- 
tion j  "  It  is  abundantly  evident,  from  most  ex- 
press testimonies  of  scripture,  that  God,  occa- 
sionally in  the  course  of  his  providence,  puts  both 
elect  and  reprobate  persons  into  circumstances  of 
temptation  :  by  which  temptation  are  meant,  not 
only  those  trials  that  are  of  an  outward,  afflictive 
nature,  but  those  also  that  are  inward  and  spiri- 
tual ;  even  such  as  shall  cause  the  persons  so 
tempted  actually  to  turn  aside  from  the  path  of 
duty  to  commit  sin,  and  involve  both  themselves 
and  others  in  evil.  Hence  we  find  the  elect  com- 
plaining. Isa.  lxiii.  17.  "  O  Lord,  why  hast 
thou  made  us  to  err  from  thy  ways,  and  harden- 
ed our  hearts  from  thy  fear  ?"  But  there  is  also 
a  kind  of  temptation,  which  is  peculiar  to  the  non- 
elect  ;  whereby  God,  in  a  way  of  just  judgment, 
makes  them  totally  blind  and  obdurate  :  inasmuch 
as  they  are  vessels  of  wrath  fitted  to  destruction." 
See  also  his  exposition  of  Rom.  ix. 

Luther]  reasons  to  the  very  same  effect :  some 
of  his  words  are  these  ;  "  It  may  seem  absurd  to 
human  wisdom,  that  God  should  harden,  blind 
and  deliver  up  some  men  to  a  reprobate  sense  ; 
that  he  should  first  deliver  them  over  to  evil,  and 
then  condemn  them  for  that  evil ;  but  the  believ- 
ing,   spiritual   man  sees   no  absurdity  at  all  in 


*  Vid  Augustin,  de  Grat.  &  lib.  Arbitr.  c.  20.  &  21.  &  Bute* 
in.  Rom.  i.  sect  7. 

t  De  Serv.  Arb.  c.  8-  &  146.  &  147.  usq-  ad.  c- 165> 
8  * 


94 

this  ;  knowing  that  God  would  be  never  a  whit 
less  good,  even  though  he  should  destroy  all 
men."  And  again ;  "  God  worketh  all  things  in 
men ;  even  wickedness  in  the  wicked  :  for  this  is 
one  branch  of  his  own  omnipotence."  He  very 
properly  explains,  how  God  may  be  said  to  hard- 
en men,  &c.  and  yet  not  be  the  author  of  their  sin  ; 
"  It  is  not  to  be  understood  (says  he)  as  if  God 
found  men  good,  wise  and  tractable,  and  then 
made  them  wicked,  foolish  and  obdurate ;  but 
God  finding  them  depraved,  judicially  and  pow- 
erfully excites  them  just  as  they  are,  (unless  it  is 
his  will  to  regenerate  any  of  them  ;)  and,  by  thus 
exciting  them,  they  become  more  blind  and  ob- 
stinate than  they  were  before."  See  this  whole 
subject  debated  at  large  in  the  places  last  refer- 
red to. 

Pos.  3.  God,  as  the  primary  and  efficient  cause 
of  all  things,  is  not  only  the  author  of  those  ac- 
tions done  by  his  elect,  as  actions,  but  also  as 
they  are  good  actions  ;  whereas,  on  the  other 
hand,  though  he  may  be  said  to  be  the  author  of 
all  the  actions  done  by  the  wicked,  yet  he  is  not 
the  author  of  them  in  a  moral  and  compound 
sense,  as  they  are  sinful ;  but  physically,  simply, 
and  sensu  divisoy  as  they  are  mere  actions,  ab- 
stractedly from  all  consideration  of  the  goodness 
or  badness  of  them. 

Although  there  is  no  action  whatever,  which  is 
not  in  some  sense,  either  good  or  bad ;  yet  we 
easily  conceive  of  an  action,  purely  as  such,  with- 
out adverting  to  the  quality  of  it :  so  that  the 
distinction  between  an  action  itself  and  its  deno- 
mination of  good  or  evil,  is  very  obvious  and 
natural. 

In  and  by  the  elect,  therefore,  God  not  only 

produces  works  and  actions  through  his  almighty 

-powers  but  likewise  through  the  salutary  infl.ii* 


95 


ences  of  his  Spirit,  first  makes  their  persons  good, 
and  then  their  actions  so  too  :  but,  in  and  by  the 
reprobate,  he  produces  actions  by  his  power  alone; 
which  actions,  as  neither  issuing  from  faith,  nor 
being  wrought  with  a  view  to  the  divine  glory, 
nor  done  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  the  divine 
word,  are  on  these  accounts  properly  denomi- 
nated evil.  Hence  we  see  that  God  does  not  im- 
mediately and  per  se  infuse  iniquity  into  the 
wicked ;  but,  as  Luther  expresses  it,  powerfully 
excites  them  to  action,  and  withholds  those  gra- 
cious influences  of  his  Spirit,  without  which 
every  action  is  necessarily  evil.  That  God,  ei- 
ther directly  or  remotely,  excites  bad  men  as  well 
as  good  ones,  to  action,  cannot  be  denied  by  any 
but  Atheists,  or  by  those  who  carry  their  notions 
of  free  will  and  human  independency  so  high  as 
to  exclude  the  Deity  from  all  actual  operation  in 
and  among  his  creatures  J  which  is  little  short  of 
Atheism.  Every  work  performed,  whether  good 
or  evil,  is  done  in  the  strength  and  by  the  power 
derived  immediately  from  God  himself,  in  whom 
all  men  live,  move,  and  have  their  being,  Acts 
xvii.  28.  As,  at  first,  without  him  was  not  any 
thing  made  which  was  made ;  so  now,  without 
him  is  not  any  thing  done  which  is  done.  We 
have  no  power  or  faculty,  whether  corporeal  or 
intellectual,  but  what  we  received  from  God,  sub- 
sists by  him,  and  is  exercised  in  subserviency  to 
his  will  and  appointment.  It  is  he  who  created, 
preserves,  actuates,  and  directs  all  things.  But 
it  by  no  means  follows  from  these  premises,  that 
God  is  therefore  the  cause  of  sin  ;  for  sin  is  no- 
thing but  *ye/A«*,  illegality,  want  of  conformity  to 
the  divine  law,  1  John  iii.  4.  a  mere  privation  of 
rectitude ;  consequently,  being  itself  a  thing  pure- 
ly negative,  it  can  have  no  positive  or  efficient 
cause,  but  only  a  negative  and  deficient  one  ;  a& 
several  learned  men  have  observed* 


96 

Every  action,  as  such,  is  undoubtedly  good  ;  it 
being  an  actual  exertion  of  those  operative  pow- 
ers given  us  by  God  for  that  very  end  :  God 
therefore  may  be  the  author  of  all  actions,  (as  he 
undoubtedly  is)  and  yet  not  be  the  author  of  evil. 
An' action  is  constituted  evil  three  ways  ;  by  pro- 
ceeding from  a  wrong  principle,  by  being  direct- 
ed to  a  wrong  end,  and  by  being  done  in  a  wrong 
manner.  Now,  though  God,  as  we  have  said,  is 
the  efficient  cause  of  our  actions,  as  actions  ;  yet, 
if  these  actions  commence  sinful,  that  sinfulness 
arises  from  ourselves.  Suppose  a  boy,  who 
knows  not  how  to  write,  has  his  hand  guided  by 
his  master,  and  nevertheless  makes  false  letters, 
quite  unlike  the  copy  set  him  j  though  his  pre- 
ceptor, who  guides  his  hand,  is  the  cause  of  his 
writing  at  all,  yet  his  own  ignorance  and  unskil- 
fulness  are  the  cause  of  his  writing  so  badly. 
Just  so,  God  is  the  supreme  author  of  our  action, 
abstractedly  taken  ;  but  our  own  vitiosity  is  the 
cause  of  our  acting  amiss. 

I  shall  conclude  this  article  with  two  or  three 
observations.  And,  (1.)  I  would  infer,  that  if 
we  would  maintain  the  doctrine  of  God's  omni- 
potence, we  must  insist  upon  that  of  his  univer- 
sal agency  :  the  latter  cannot  be  denied,  without 
giving  up  the  former.  Disprove  that  he  is  al- 
mighty, and  then  we  will  grant  that  his  influence 
and  operations  are  limited  and  circumscribed. 
Luther  says,*  "  God  would  not  be  a  respectable 
being  if  he  were  not  almighty,  and  the  doer  of  all 
things  that  are  done  ;  or  if  any  thing  could  come 
to  pass  in  which  he  had  no  hand."  God  has,  at 
least  a  physical  influence  on  whatsoever  is  done 
by  his  creatures,  whether  trivial  or  important, 
good  or  evil.  Judas  as  truly  lived,  moved,  and 
.»*...,,  .  ,  -> 

*  De  Serv.  Arb-  c*  168.' 


97 

had  his  being  from  God,  as  Peter ;  and  Satan 
himself,  as  much  as  Gabriel :  for,  to  say  that  sin 
exempts  the  sinner  from  the  divine  government 
and  jurisdiction,  is  abridging  the  power  of  God 
with  a  witness ;  nay,  is  razing  it  from  its  very 
foundations. 

(2.)  This  doctrine  of  God's  omnipotence  has  a 
native  tendency  to  awaken  in  our  hearts  that  re- 
verence for,  and  fear  of  the  divine  Majesty, 
which  none  can  either  receive  or  retain,  but  those 
who  believe  him  to  be  infinitely  powerful,  and  to 
work  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will. 
This  godly  fear  is  a  sovereign  antidote  against  sin ; 
for  if  I  really  believe  that  God,  by  his  unintermit- 
ted  operation  upon  my  soul,  produces  actions  in 
me,  which,  being  simply  good,  receive  their  malig- 
nancy from  the  corruption  of  my  nature  (and 
even  those  works  that  stand  opposed  to  sins,  are, 
more  or  less,  infected  with  this  moral  leprosy ;) 
and  if  I  consider  that,  should  I  yield  myself  a 
slave  to  actual  iniquity,  God  can,  and  justly 
might,  as  he  has  frequently  done  by  others,  give 
me  up  to  a  reprobate  mind,  and  punish  one  sin, 
by  leaving  me  to  the  commission  of  another ; 
surely,  such  reflections  as  these  must  fill  me  with 
awful  apprehensions  of  the  divine  purity,  power 
and  greatness,  and  make  me  watch  continually, 
as  well  against  the  inward  risings,  as  the  outward 
appearance  of  evil. 

(3.)  This  doctrine  is  also  useful,  as  it  tends  to 
inspire  us  with  true  humility  of  soul,  and  to  lay 
us,  as  impotent  dust  and  ashes,  at  the  feet  of 
sovereign  omnipotence.  It  teaches  us,  what  too 
many  are  fatally  ignorant  of,  the  blessed  lesson  of 
self- despair  ;  i.  e.  that,  in  a  state  of  unregenera- 
cy,  our  wisdom  is  follv,  our  strength  weakness, 
and  our  righteousness  nothing  worth  :  that,  there- 
fore, we  can  do  nothing  either  to  the  glory  »f 


98 

God,  or  the  spiritual  benefit  of  ourselves,  ancl 
others,  but  through  the  ability  which  he  giveth  ; 
that  in  him  our  strength  lieth,  and  from  him  all 
our  help  must  come.  Supposing  we  believe, that, 
whatsoever  is  done  below  or  above,  God  doeth 
it  himself;  that  all  things  depend,  both  as  to  their 
being  and  operation,  upon  his  omnipotent  arm 
and  mighty  support;  that  we  cannot  even  sin, 
much  less  do  any  good  thing,  if  he  withdraw  his 
aid ;  and  that  all  men  are  in  his  hand,  as  clay  in 
the  hand  of  the  potter  ;  I  say,  did  we  really  be- 
lieve all  these  points,  and  see  them  in  the  light 
of  the  divine  Spirit,  how  can  it  be  reasonably 
supposed  that  we  could  wax  insolent  against  this 
great  God,  behave  contemptuously  and  supercili- 
ously in  the  world,  or  boast  of  any  thing  we 
have  or  do  ?  Luther  informs  us,*  that  he  "  used 
frequently  to  be  much  offended  at  this  doctrine, 
because  it  drove  him  to  self-despair  ;  but  that  he 
afterwards  found,  that  this  sort  of  despair  was 
salutary  and  profitable,  and  near  akin  to  divine 
grace." 

(4.)  We  are  hereby  taught  not  only  humility 
before  God,  but  likewise  dependence  on  him,  and 
resignation  to  him.  For,  if  we  are  thoroughly 
persuaded  that,  of  ourselves,  and  in  our  own 
strength,  we  cannot  either  do  good  or  evil ;  but 
that,  being  originally  created  by  God,  we  are  in- 
cessantly supported,  moved,  influenced,  and  di- 
rected by  him,  this  way  or  that,  as  he  pleases  ; 
the  natural  inference  from  hence  will  be,  that, 
with  simple  faith,  we  cast  ourselves,  entirely,  as 
on  the  bosom  of  his  Providence  ;  commit  all  our 
care  and  solicitude  to  his  hand  ;  praying,  with- 
out hesitation  or  reserve,  that  his  will  may  be 


*  De  Serv.  Arb.  c  161. 


99 


done  in  us,  on  us,  and  by  us ;  and  that,  in  all  his 
dealings  with  us,  he  may  consult  his  own  glory 
alone.  This  holy  passiveness  is  the  very  apex  of 
Christianity.  All  the  desires  of  our  great  Re- 
deemer himself  were  reducible  to  these  two ; 
that  the  will  of  God  might  be  done,  and  that  the 
glory  of  God  might  be  displayed.  These  were  the 
highest  and  supreme  marks  at  which  he  aimed, 
throughout  the  whole  course  of  his  spotless  life, 
and  inconceivably  tremendous  sufferings.  Hap- 
py, thrice  happy  that  man,  who  hath  thus  far  at- 
tained the  mind  that  was  in  Christ ! 

(5.)  The  comfortable  belief  of  this  doctrine 
has  a  tendency  to  excite  and  keep  alive  within  us 
that  fortitude,  which  is  so  ornamental  to,  and  ne- 
cessary for  us,  while  we  abide  in  this  wilderness. 
For,  if  i  believe  with  the  Apostle,  that  all  things 
are  of  God,  2.  Cor.  v.  18.  I  shall  be  less  liable 
to  perturbation  when  afflicted,  and  learn  more 
easily  to  possess  my  soul  in  patience.  This  was 
Job's  support :  he  was  not  overcome  with  rage 
and  despair,  when  he  received  news  that  the  Sa- 
beans  had  carried  off  his  cattle,  and  slain  his  ser- 
vants, and  that  the  remainder  of  both  were  con- 
sumed with  lire  ;  that  the  Chaldeans  had  robbed 
him  of  his  camels  ;  and  that  his  seven  sons  were 
crushed  to  death,  by  the  falling  of  the  house 
where  they  were  sitting :  he  resolved  all  these 
misfortunes  into  the  agency  of  God,  his  power 
and  sovereignty,  and  even  thanked  him  for  doing 
what  he  would  with  his  own,  Job  i.  21.  If  ano- 
ther should  slander  me  in  word,  or  injure  me  in 
deed,  I  shall  not  be  prone  to  anger,  when,  with 
David,  I  consider  that  the  Lord  hath  bidden 
him,  2  Sam.  xvi.  10. 

(6.)  This  should  stir  us  up  to  fervent  and  in- 
cessant prayer.  For,  does  God  work  powerfully 
and  benignly  in  the  hearts  of  his  elect  ?  and  is 


100 

he  the  sole  cause  of  every  action  they  do,  which 
is  truly  and  spiritually  good  ?  Then  it  should  be 
our  prayer,  that  he  would  work  in  us  likewise 
both  to  will  and  to  do,  of  his  good  pleasure  : 
and  if,  on  self-examination,  we  find  reason  to 
trust,  that  some  good  thing  is  wrought  in  us;  it 
should  put  us  upon  thankfulness  unfeigned,  and 
cause  us  to  glory,  not  in  ourselves  but  in  him. 
On  the  other  hand,  does  God  manifest  his  displea- 
sure against  the  wicked,  by  blinding,  hardening, 
and  giving  them  up  to  perpetrate  iniquity  with 
greediness  ?  which  judicial  acts  of  God,  are  both 
a  punishment  for  their  sin  :  and  also  eventual  ad- 
ditions to  it :  we  should  be  the  more  incited  to 
deprecate  these  tremendous  evils,  and  to  beseech 
the  King  of  heaven,  that  he  would  not  thus  lead 
us  into  temptation.  So  much  concerning  the 
omnipotence  of  God.      I  shall  now, 

V.  Take  notice  of  his  Justice. 

Pos.  1.  God  is  infinitely,  absolutely,  and  un- 
changeably just. 

The  justice  of  God  may  be  considered  either 
immanently,  as  it  is  in  himself,  which  is,  proper- 
ly speaking,  the  same  with  his  holiness  ;  or  tran- 
siently and  relatively,  as  it  respects  his  right  con- 
duct towards  his  creatures,  which  is  properly 
justice.  By  the  former  he  is  all  that  is  holy, 
just,  and  good  ;  by  the  latter,  he  is  manifested  to 
be  so,  in  all  his  dealings  with  angels  and  men. 
For  the  first,  see  Deut.  xxxii.  4.  Ps.  xcii.  15. 
for  the  second,  Job  viii.  3.  Ps.  cxlv.  17.  Hence 
it  follows,  that  whatever  God  either  wills  or  does, 
however  it  may,  at  first  sight,  seem  to  clash  with 
our  ideas  of  right  and  wrong,  cannot  really  be 
unjust.  It  is  certain,  that,  for  a  season,  he  sore- 
ly afflicted  his  righteous  servant  Job  ;  and,  on 
the  other  hand  enriched  the  Sabeans,  an  infidel 
and,  lawless  nation,  with  a  profusion  of  wealth 


101 

and  a  series  of  success  ;  before  Jacob  and  Esau 
were  born,  or  had  none  either  good  or  evil,  he 
loved  and  chose  the  former,  and  reprobated  the 
latter :  He  gave  repentance  to  Peter,  and  left  Ju- 
das to  perish  in  his  sin :  and,  as  in  all  ages,  so,  to 
this  day,  he  hath  mercy  on  whom  he  will,  and 
whom  he  will  he  hardeneth.  In  all  which,  he 
acts  most  justly  and  righteously,  and  there  is  no 
iniquity  with  him. 

Pos.  2.  The  Deity  may  be  considered  in  a 
threefold  view  :  as  <->od  of  all,  as  Lord  of  all, 
and  as  Judge  of  all. 

1.  As  God  of  all,  he  created,  sustains,  and 
exhilerates  the  whole  universe  :  causes  his  sun  to 
shine,  and  his  rain  to  fall  upon  the  evil  and  the 
good,  Mat.  v.  and  is  2*/t^  *-«v7#>  a^MTrut,  the  pre* 
server  of  all  men,  1  Tim.  iv.  10.  For,  as  he  is 
infinitely  and  supremely  good,  so  also  is  he  com- 
municative of  his  goodness  ;  as  appears  not  only 
from  his  creation  of  all  things,  but  especially 
from  his  providential  benignity.  Every  thing 
has  its  being  from  him,  as  Creator ;  and  its  well- 
being  from  him,  as  a  bountiful  Preserver.  2. 
As  Lord,  or  sovereign  of  all,  he  does  as  he  will 
(and  has  a  most  unquestionable  right  to  do  so^ 
with  his  own  ;  and,  in  particular,  fixes  and  deter- 
mines the  everlasting  state  of  every  individual 
person,  as  he  sees  fit.  It  is  essential  to  absolute 
sovereignty;  that  the  sovereign  have  it  in  his 
power  to  dispose  of  those,  over  whom  his  juris- 
diction extends,  just  as  he  pleases,  without  being1 
accountable  to  any  :  And  God,  whose  authority 
is  unbounded,  none  being  exempt  from  it ;  may, 
with  the  strictest  holiness  and  justice,  love  or 
hate,  elect  or  reprobate,  save  or  destroy  any  of 
his  creatures,  whether  human  or  angelic,  accord- 
ing to  his  own  free  pleasure  and  sovereign  pur- 
pose. 3.  As  Judge  of  all,  he  ratifies  what  he- 
9 


102 

does  as  Lord,  by  rendering  to  all  according  to 
their  works  ;  by  punishing  the  wicked,  and  re- 
warding those  whom  it  was  his  will  to  esteem 
righteous  and  to  make  holy. 

Pos.  3.  Whatever  things  God  wills  or  does,  are 
not  willed  and  done  by  him  because  they  were, 
in  their  own  nature,  and  previously  to  his  willing 
them,  just  and  right :  or  because,  from  their  in- 
trinsic fitness,  he  ought  to  will  and  to  do  them  : 
but  they  are  therefore  just,  right  and  proper,  be- 
cause he,  who  is  holiness  itself  wills  and. does 
them. 

Hence  Abraham  looked  upon  it  as  a  righteous 
action  to  slay  his  innocent  son.  Why  did  he  so 
esteem  it,  because  the  law  of  God  authorized 
murder  ?  No  ;  for,  on  the  contrary,  both  the  law 
of  od  and  the  law  of  nature  peremptorily  for- 
bad it :  but  the  holy  patriarch  well  knew,  that  the 
will  of  God  is  the  only  rule  of  justice  ,  and  that 
what  he  pleases  to  command  is,  on  that  very  ac- 
count just  and  righteous.*     It  follows, 

Pos.  4.  That  although  our  works  are  to  be  ex- 
amined by  the  revealed  will  of  God,  and  be  de- 
nominated materially  good  or  evil,  as  they  agree 
or  disagree  with  it ;  yet,  the  works  of  God  him- 
self cannot  be  brought  to  any  test  whatever  :  for, 
his  will  being  the  grand,  universal  law,  he  him- 
self cannot  be,  properly  speaking,  subject  to,  or 
obliged  by,  any  law  superior  to  that.  Many 
things  are  done  by  him,  such  as  chusing  and  re- 
probating men,  without  any  respect  had  to  their 
works;  suffering  people  to  fall  into  sin,  when,  if 
it  so  pleased  him  he  might  prevent  it;  leaving 
many  backsliding  professors  to  go  on  and  perish  in 
their  apostacy,  when  it  is  in  his  divine  power  to 
sanctify  and   set  them  right ;    drawing  some  by 

*  Compare  also  Exod.  iii.  22.  with  Exod.  xx.  15- 


I 

103 

his  grace,  and  permitting  many  others  to  continue 
in  sin  and  unregeneracy ;  condemning  those  to 
future  misery,  whom,  if  he  pleased,  he  could  un- 
doubtedly save  ;  with  innumerable  instances  of 
the  like  nature,  (which  might  be  mentioned)  and 
which,  if  done  by  us,  would  be  apparently  unjust, 
inasmuch  as  they  would  not  square  with  the  re- 
vealed will  of  God,  which  is  the  great  and  only 
safe  rule  of  our  practice.  But,  when  he  does 
these  and  such  like  things,  they  cannot  but  be 
holy,*  equitable,  and  worthy  of  himself:  for, 
since  his  will  is  essentially  and  unchangeably  just, 
whatever  he  does,  in  consequence  of  that  will, 
must  be  just  and  good  likewise.  From  what  has 
been  delivered  under  this  fifth  head,  I  would  in- 
fer, That  they,  who  deny  the  power  God  has  of 
doing  as  he  will  with  his  creatures,  and  exclaim 
against  unconditional  decrees  as  cruel,  tyranni- 
cal, and  unjust;  either  know  not  what  they  say, 
nor  whereof  they  affirm  ;  or  are  wilful  blasphe- 
mers of  his  name,  and  perverse  rebels  against 
his  sovereignty  :  to  which  at  last,  however  un- 
willingly, then  will  be  forced  to  submit. 

I  shall  conclude  this  introduction  with  briefly 
considering  in  the 

Sixth  and  last  place,  the  Mercy  of  God. 

Pos.  1.  The  Deity  is,  throughout  the  scriptures, 
represented  as  infinitely  gracious  and  merciful, 
Exod.  xxxiv.  6.  Nehem.  ix.  17*  Psalm  ciii.  8. 
1  Pet.  i.  3. 

When  we  call  the  divine  mercy  infinite,  we  do 
not  mean  tha*  it  is,  in  a  way  of  grace,  extended  to 
all  men,without  exception ;  (and  supposing  it  was, 
even  then  it  would  be  very  improperly  denomina- 
ted infinite  on  that  account,  since  the  objects  of  it, 
though  all  men  taken  together,  would  not  amount 
to  a  multitude  strictly  and  properly  infinite)  but, 
that  his  mercy  towards  his  own  elect,  as  it  knew 


104 

no  beginning,  so  is  it  infinite  in  duration,   and 
shall  know  neither  period  nor  intermission. 

Pos.  2.  Mercy  is  not  in  the  Deity,  as  it  is  in 
us,  a  passion,  or  affection  ;  every  thing  of  that 
kind  being  incompatible  with  the  purity,  perfec- 
tion', independency  and  unchangeableness  of  his 
nature  :  but,  when  this  attribute  is  predicated  of 
him,  it  only  notes  his  free  and  eternal  will,  or 
purpose,  of  making  some  of  the  fallen  race  happy, 
by  delivering  them  from  the  guilt  and  dominion 
of  sin,  and  communicating  himself  to  them  in  a 
way  consistent  with  his  own  inviolable  justice, 
truth,  and  holiness.  This  seems  to  be  the  proper 
definition  of  mercy,  as  it  relates  to  the  spiritual 
and  eternal  good  of  those  who  are  its  objects. 
But  it  should  be  observed, 

Pos.  3.  That  the  mercy  of  God,  taken  in  its 
Biore  large  and  indefinite  sense,  may  be  consider- 
ed, 1.  as  general,  2.  as  special. 

His  general  mercy  is  no  other  than  what  we 
commonly  call  his  bounty ;  by  which  he  is,  more 
or  less,  providentially  good  to  all  mankind,  both 
elect  and  non-elect :  Mat.  v.  45.  Luke  vi.  35. 
Acts  xiv.  17.  and  xvii.  25 — 28.  By  his  special 
mercy,  he  as  Lord  of  all,  hath  in  a  spiritual 
sense,  compassion  on  as  many  of  the  fallen  race 
as  are  the  objects  of  his  free  and  eternal  favour  : 
the  effects  of  which  special  mercy  are,  the  re?- 
demption  and  justification  of  their  persons 
through  the  satisfaction  of  Christ ;  the  effectual 
vocation,  regeneration,  and  sanctification  of  them, 
by  his  Spirit ;  the  infallible  and  final  preservation 
of  them  in  a  state  of  grace  on  earth ;  and  their 
everlasting  glorification  in  heaven. 

Pos.  4.  There  is  no  contradiction,  whether 
real  or  seeming,  between  these  two  assertions, 
1.  That  the  blessings  of  grace  and  glory  are  pe- 
culiar to  those  whom  God  hath  in  his  decree  of 


105 

predestination,  set  apart  for  himself;  and  2. 
That  the  gospel  declaration  runs,  that  whosoever 
willeth,  may  take  of  the  water  of  life  freely,  Rev. 
xxii.  17".  "Since,  in  the  first  place,  none  can 
will,  or  unfeignedly  and  spiritually  desire  a  part 
in  these  privileges,  but  those  whom  God  previ- 
ously makes  willing  and  desirous  ;  and,  secondly, 
that  he  gives  this  will  to,  and  excites  this  desire 
in,  none  but  his  own  elect. 

Pos.  5.  Since  ungodly  men,  who  are  totally 
and  finally  destitute  of  divine  grace,  cannot  know 
what  this  mercy  is,  nor  form  any  proper  appre- 
hensions of  it,  much  less  by  faith  embrace  and 
rely  upon  it  for  themselves  ;  and  since  daily  expe- 
rience, as  well  as  the  scriptures  of  truth,  teach 
us  that  God  doth  not  open  the  eyes  of  the  repro- 
bate, as  he  doth  the  eyes  of  his  elect,  nor  savingly 
enlighten  their  understandings  ;  it  evidently  fol- 
lows that  his  mercy  was  never,  from  the  very 
first,  designed  for  them,  neither  will  it  be  applied 
to  them  :  but,  both  in  designation  and  applica- 
tion, is  proper  and  peculiar  to  those  only,  who 
are  predestinated  to  life  ;  as  it  is  written,  the 
election  hath  obtained,  and  the  rest  were  blinded, 
Rom.  xi.  7. 

Pos.  6.  The  whole  work  of  salvation,  together 
with  every  thing  that  is  in  order  to  it,  or  stands 
in  connexion  with  it,  is  sometimes  in  scripture 
comprised  under  the  single  term  mercy  ;  to  shew 
that  mere  love  and  absolute  grace  were  the  grand 
causes  why  the  elect  are  saved,  and  that  all  merit, 
worthiness,  and  good  qualifications  of  theirs  were 
entirely  excluded  from  having  any  influence  on 
the  divine  will,  whv  they  should  be  chosen,  re- 
deemed, and  glorified,  above  others.  When  it  is 
said,  Rom.  ix.  "  He  hath  mercy  on  whom  he 
will  have  mercy,"  it  is  as  much  as  if  the  Apostle 
had  said,  "  God  elected,  ransomed,  justified.,  re?- 
9  * 


106 

generates,  sanctifies  and  glorifies  whom  he  plea- 
ses i  every  one  of  these  great  privileges  being 
briefly  summed  up,  and  virtually  included,  in  that 
comprehensive  phrase,  "  He  hath  mercy." 

Pos.  7.  It  follows,  that  whatever  favour  is 
bestowed  on  us,  or  wrought  by  us,  whether  in 
will,  word,  or  deed;  and  whatever  blessings 
else  we  receive  from  God,  from  election  quite 
home  to  glorification;  all  proceed  merely  and 
entirely  from  the  good  pleasure  of  his  will,  and 
his  mercy  towards  us  in  Christ  Jesus.  To  him, 
therefore,  the  praise  is  due,  who  putteth  the  dif- 
ference between  man  and  man,  by  having  compas- 
sion on  some,  and  not  on  others. 


THE 
DOCTRINE 

or 

ABSOLUTE  PREDESTINATION 

STATED  AND  ASSERTED. 


CHAPTER  I. 

WHEREIN  THE  TERMS  COMMONLY  MADE  VSE  OF  IN 
TREATING  OF  THIS  SUBJECT,  ARE  DEFINED  AND 
EXPLAINED. 

HAVING  considered  the  attributes  of  God,  as 
laid  down  in  scripture ;  and,  so  far,  cleared  our 
way  to  the  doctrine  of  predestination  ;  I  shallr 
before  I  enter  further  on  the  subject,  explain  the 
principal  terms  generally  made  use  of  when  treat- 
ing of  it,  and  settle  their  true  meaning.  In  discour- 
sing on  the  divine  decrees,  mention  is  frequently 
made  of  God's  love  and  hatred ;  of  election  and 
reprobation ;  of  the  divine  purpose,  foreknow- 
ledge, and  predestination  ;  each  of  which  we  shall 
distinctly  and  briefly  consider. 

I.  When  love  is  predicated  of  God,  we  do  not 
mean  that  he  is  possessed  of  it  as  a  passion,  or 
affection.  In  us  it  is  such ;  but  if,  considered  in 
that  sense,  it  should  be  ascribed  to  the  Deity,  it 
would  be  utterly  subversive  of  the  simplicity  per- 
fection, and  independency  of  his  being.     Love, 


108 

therefore,  when  attributed  to  him,  signifies,  1. 
his  eternal  benevolence,  i.  e.  his  everlasting  will, 
purpose,  and  determination  to  deliver,  bless,  and 
save  his  people.  Of  this,  no  good  works  wrought 
by  them  are  in  any  sense  the  cause.  Neither  are 
even  the  merits  of  Christ  himself  to  be  consider- 
ed as  any  way  moving  or  exciting  this  good  will 
of  God  to  his  elect ;  since  the  gift  of  Christ  to 
be  their  mediator  and  redeemer,  is  itself  an  ef- 
fect of  this  free  and  eternal  favour,  borne  to  them 
by  God  the  Father,  John  iii.  16.  "  His  love  to- 
wards them  arises  merely  from  the  good  pleasure 
of  his  own  good  will,  without  the  least  regard  to 
any  thing  ad  extra,  or,  out  of  himself."  The 
term  implies,  2.  complacency,  delight,  and  ap- 
probation. With  this  love,  God  cannot  love  even 
his  elect,  as  considered  in  themselves  ;  because 
in  that  view,  they  are  guilty,  polluted  sinners; 
but  they  were  from  all  eternity  objects  of  it,  as 
they  stood  united  to  Christ,  and  partakers  of  his 
righteousness.  Love  implies,  3.  actual  benefi- 
cence ;  which,  properly  speaking,  is  nothing  else 
than  the  effect  or  accomplishment  of  the  other 
two :  those  are  the  cause  of  this.  This  actual 
beneficence  respects  all  blessings,  whether  of  % 
temporal,  spiritual,  or  eternal  nature.  Temporal 
good  things  are  indeed  indiscriminately  bestow- 
ed in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  on  all,  whether 
elect  or  reprobate  ;  but  they  are  given  in  a  cove- 
nant way,  and  as  blessings  to  the  elect  only ;  to 
whom  also  the  other  benefits,  respecting  grace 
and  glory,  are  peculiar.  And  this  love  of  bene- 
ficence no  less  than  that  of  benevolence  and 
complacency,  is  absolutely  free,  and  irrespective 
of  any  worthiness  in  man. 

II.  When  hatred  is  ascribed  to  God,  it  im- 
plies, 1.  a  negation  of  benevolence ;  or,  a  reso- 
lution not  to  have  mercy  on  such  and  such  men,, 


109 

nor  to  endue  them  with  any  of  those  graces 
which  stand  connected  with  eternal  life.  So, 
Rom.  ix.  "  Esau  have  I  hated,  i.  e.  I  did 
from  all  eternity,  determine  within  myself,  not  ta 
have  mercy  on  him.*'  The  sole  cause  of  which 
awful  negation  is  not  merely  the  unworthiness  of 
the  persons  hated,  but  the  sovereignty  and  free- 
dom of  the  divine  will.  2.  It  denotes  displea- 
sure and  dislike  :  for  sinners  who  are  not  interest- 
ed in  Christ,  cannot  but  be  infinitely  displeasing 
to,  and  loathsome  in  the  sight  of  eternal  purity. 
3.  It  signifies  a  positive  will  to  punish  and 
destroy  the  reprobate  for  their  sins  ;  of  which 
will  the  infliction  of  misery  upon  them  hereaf- 
ter, is  but  the  necessary  effect,  and  actual  execu- 
tion. 

III.  The  term  election^  that  so  very  frequent- 
ly occurs  in  scripture,  is  there  taken  in  a  fourfold 
sense;  1.  and  most  commonly  signifies,  "That 
eternal,  sovereign,  unconditional,  particular,  and 
immutable  act  of  God,  where  he  selected  some 
from  among  all  mankind,  and  of  every  nation  un- 
der heaven,  to  be  redeemed  and  everlastingly 
saved  by  Christ."  2.  It  sometimes  and  more 
rarely  signifies,  "  That  gracious  and  almighty  act 
of  the  divine  Spirit,  whereby  God  actually  and 
visibly  separates  his  elect  from  the  world,  by  ef- 
fectual calling."  This  is  nothing  but  the  mani- 
festation and  partial  fulfilment  of  the  former  elec- 
tion ;  and  by  it,  the  objects  of  predestinating 
grace  are  sensibly  led  unto  the  communion  of 
saints,  and  visibly  added  to  the  number  of  Cod's 
declared,  professing  people.  Of  this  our  Lord 
makes  mention,  John  xv.  19.  "  Because  I  have 
chosen  you  out  of  the  world,  therefore  the 
world  hateth  you."  Where,  it  should  seem,  the 
choice  spoken  of,  does  not  refer  so  much  to 
God's  eternal  immanent   act  of  election,  as  hi? 


110 

open,  manifest  one  ;  whereby  he  powerfully  and 
efficaciously  called  the  disciples  forth  from  the 
world  of  the  unconverted,  and  quickened  them 
from  above,  in  conversion.  3.  By  election  is 
sometimes  meant,  "  God's  taking  a  whole  nation, 
community,  or  body  of  men,  into  external  cove- 
nant with  himself,  by  giving  them  the  advantage 
of  revelation,  or  his  written  word,  as  the  rule  of 
their  belief  and  practice,  when  other  nations  are 
without  it."  In  this  sense,  the  whole  body  of 
the  Jewish  nation  was  indiscriminately  called 
elect,  Deut.  vii.  6.  "  because  that  unto  them  were 
committed  the  oracles  of  God.  Now,  all  that  are 
thus  elected  are  not  therefore  necessarily  saved ; 
but  many  of  them  may  be,  and  are,  reprobates  : 
as  those  of  whom  our  Lord  says,  Mat.  x-iii.  20. 
"  that  they  hear  the  word  and  anon  with  joy 
receive  it,  &c."  And  the  apostle  John,  1  Epist. 
chap.  ii.  "  They  went  out  from  us,  i.  e.  being  fa- 
voured with  the  same  gospel  revelation  we  were, 
they  professed  themselves  true  believers  no  less 
than  we  ;  but  they  were  not  of  us,  i.  e.  they  were 
not  with  us  chosen  of  God  unto  everlasting  life, 
nor  did  they  ever  in  reality,  possess  that  faith  of 
his  operation,  which  he  gave  to  us ;  for,  if  they 
had  in  this  sense,  been  of  us,  they  would  no  doubt 
have  continued  with  us  j  they  would  have  mani- 
fested the  sincerity  of  their  professions,  and 
the  truth  of  their  conversion  by  enduring  to  the 
end,  and  being  saved."  And  even  this  external 
revelation,  though  it  is  not  necessarily  connected 
with  eternal  happiness,  is  nevertheless  productive 
of  very  many  and  great  advantages  to  the  people 
and  places  where  it  is  vouchsafed  ;  and  is  made 
known    to    some  nations,    and  kept  back*  from 


See  Psalm  cxlvii.  19,  20. 


Ill 

others,  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  him, 
who  worketh  all  thing  after  the  counsel  of  his 
own  will.  4.  And  lastly,  election  sometimes 
signifies,  "  The  temporary  designation  of  some 
person  or  persons,  to  the  filling  up  some  particu- 
lar station  in  the  visible  church,  or  office  in  civil 
life."  So  Judas  was  chosen  to  the  apostleship, 
John  vi.  70.  and  Saul  to  be  king  of  Israel,  1  Sam. 
x.  24.  "  This  much  for  the  use  of  the  word 
election."     On  the  contrary, 

IV.     Reprobation    denotes    either,    1.    God's 
eternal  pretention  of  some  men,  when  he  chose 
others  to  glory,  and  his  predestination  of  them  to 
fill  up  the  measure  of  their  iniquities,  and  then  to 
receive  the  just  punishment  of  their  crimes,  even 
destruction  from  the  presence  of   the  Lord,   and 
from  the  glory  of  his  power.     This  is  the  prima- 
ry, most  obvious,  and  most  frequent  sense,    in 
which  the  word  is  used.     It  may  likewi  e  signify, 
3.   C:od's  forbearing  to  call  by  his   grace,  those 
whom  he  hath  thus  ordained  to  condemnation  : 
but  this  is  only  a  temporary  pretention,  and  a 
consequence  of  that  which  was    from    eternity. 
3.  And  lastly,   the  word  may  be  taken  in  ano- 
ther sense,   as  denoting  God's  refusal  to  grant  to 
some  nations    the  light  of  the  gospel  revelation. 
This  may  be  considered  as  a  kind  of  national  re- 
probation ;    which  yet  does  not  imply  that  every 
individual  person,    who  lives  in  such  a  country, 
must  therefore  unavoidably  perish  for  ever;  any 
more  than  that  every  individual,    who  lives  in  a 
land  called  Christian,  is  therefore  in  a  state  of  sal- 
vation.    There  are  no  doubt,  elect  persons  among 
the  former  ;  as  well  as  reprobate  ones  among  the 
latter.      By  a  very  little  attention  to  the  context, 
any  reader  may  easily  discover  in  which  of  these 
several  senses  the  words  elect  and  reprobate  are 
U6ed,  whenever  they  occur  in  scripture. 


112 

V.  Mention  is  frequently  made,  in  scripture, 
of  the  purpose*  of  God  :  which  is  no  other  than 
his  gracious  intention  from  eternity  of  making 
his  elect  everlastingly  happy  in  Christ. 

,  VI.  When  foreknowledge  is  ascribed  to  God, 
the  word  imports,  1.  that  general  prescience, 
whereby  he  knew  from  all  eternity,  both  what  he 
himself  would  do,  and  what  his  creatures,  in  con- 
sequence of  his  efficacious  and  permissive  de- 
cree, should  do  likewise.  The  divine  foreknow- 
ledge considered  in  this  view,  is  absolutely  uni- 
versal ;  it  extends  to  all  beings  that  did,  do,  or 
ever  shall  exist ;  and  to  all  actions  that  ever  have 
been,  that  are,  or  shall  be  done,  whether  good  or 


*  The  purpose  of  God  does  not  seem  to  differ  at  all  from 
predestination :  that  being  as  well  as  this,  an  eternal,  free, 
and  unchangeable  act  of  his  will.  Besides,  the  word  purpose, 
when  predicated  of  God  in  the  New  Testament,  always  de- 
notes his  design  of  saving-  his  elect,  and  that  only,  Rom.  viii. 
28.  &  ix.  11.  Eph.  i.  11.  &  iii.  11.  2  Tim.  i.  9  As  does  the 
term  predestination  ;  which,  throughout  the  whole  New  Tes- 
tament, never  signifies  the  appointment  of  the  non-elect  to 
Wrath;  but  singly  and  solely  the  fore-appointment  of  the  elect 
to  grace  and  glory  :  though,  in  common  theological  writings, 
predestination  is  spoken  of  as  extending  to  whattver  God 
does,  both  in  a  way  of  permission  and  efficiency  ;  as  in  the 
utmost  sense  of  the  term  it  does.  It  is  worthy  of  the  read- 
er's notice,  that  the  original  word  7rg>e#£5-<s,  which  we  lender 
purpose,  signifies  not  only  an  appointment,  but  a  fore-appoint- 
ment, and  such  a  fore-appointment  as  is  efficacious,  and  cin- 
not  be  obstructed,  but  shall  most  assuredly  issue  in  a  full 
accomplishment:  which  gave  occasion  to  the  following  judi- 
cious remark  of  a  late  learned  writer;  "  vgofairis  a  Paulo 
sxpe  usurpatur  in  elect ionisnegotio,  addesignandum,  consili- 
um hoc  Dei  non  esse  inanem  quandam  &.  inefficacem  vellei- 
tatem  ;  Bed  constans,  detenvinatum,  et  immutabile  Dei  pro- 
posh"  um.  Vox  enim  est  efficacis  summx,  ut  notant  gi  am- 
matici  veteres  ;  et  signate  vocatur  a  Patdo.  wgoitanti  ttx  roc 
jrxXjx  eveg'ytjvl<&'y  Consilium  illius,  qui  effic.-.citer  omnia 
operatur  ex  beneplacito  suo."  Turreti>:.  Institut.  Tom. 
1.  loc.  4.  quaest.  7.  s.  12. 


113 

evil,  natural,  civil,  or  moral.  2.  The  word  of- 
ten denotes  that  special  prescience  which  has  for 
its  objects  his  own  elect,  and  them  alone ;  whom 
he  is  in  a  peculiar  sense  said  to  know  and  fore- 
know, Psal.  i.  6.  John  x.  27.  2  Tim.  ii.  19.  Rom. 
viii.  29.  1  Pet.  i.  2.  and  this  knowledge  is  con- 
nected with,  or  rather  the  same  with  love,  favour, 
and  approbation, 

VII.  We  come  now  to  consider  the  meaning 
of  the  word  predestination,  and  how  it  is  taken  in 
scripture.  The  verb  predestinate  is  of  Latin 
original,  and  signifies  in  that  tongue,  to  delibe- 
rate beforehand  with  one's  self,  how  one  shall 
act :  and  in  consequence  of  such  deliberation,  to 
constitute,  foreordain,  and  predetermine,  where, 
when,  how,  and  by  whom,  any  thing  shall  be 
done,  and  when  it  shall  be  done.  So  the  Greek 
verb  ■jtpoo^i^m,  which  exactly  answers  to  the  Eng- 
lish word  predestinate,  and  is  rendered  by  it,  sig- 
nifies, to  resolve  beforehand  within  one's  self 
what  to  do,  and  before  the  thing  resolved  on  is 
actually  effected,  to  appoint  it  to  some  certain  use, 
and  direct  it  to  some  determinate  end.  The  He- 
brew verb  habhdeL,  has  likewise  much  the  same 
signification. 

Now,  none  but  wise  men  are  capable  (especial- 
ly in  matters  of  great  importance)  of  rightly  de- 
termining what  to  do,  and  how  to  accomplish  a 
proper  end,  by  just,  suitable,  and  effectual  means  : 
and  if  this  is  confessedly  a  very  material  part  of 
true  wisdom,  who  so  fit  to  dispose  of  men,  and 
assign  each  individual  his  sphere  of  action  in  this 
world,  and  his  place  in  the  world  to  come,  as  the 
all-wise  God  ?  and  yet,  alas  !  how  many  are  there 
who  cavil  at  thfcse  eternal  decrees,  which,  were 
we  capable  of  fully  and  clearly  understanding 
them,  would  appear  to  be  as  just  as  they  are  so- 
vereigfij  and  as  wise  as  they  are  incomprehensi- 
10 


114 

Lie  !  Divine  preordination  has  for  its  objects,  all 
things  that  are  created  :  no  creature,  whether  ra- 
tional or  irrational,  animate  or  inanimate,  is  ex- 
empted from  its  influence.  All  beings  whatever, 
frorn  the  highest  angel  to  the  meanest  reptile,  and 
from  the  meanest  reptile  to  the  minutest  atom, 
are  the  objects  of  God's  eternal  decrees  and  par- 
ticular providence.  However  the  ancient  fathers 
only  make  use  of  the  Avord  predestination  as  it  re- 
fers to  angels  or  men,  whether  good  or  evil :  and 
it  is  used  by  the  apostle  Paul  in  a  more  limited 
sense  still ;  so  as  by  it  to  mean  only  that  branch  of 
it  which  respects  God's  election  and  designation  of 
his  people  to  eternal  life,  Rom.  viii.  30.  Eph.  i.  11, 
But  that  we  may  more  justly  apprehend  the 
import  of  this  word,  and  the  ideas  intended  to  be 
conveyed  by  it,  it  may  be  proper  to  observe,  that 
the  term  predestination,  theologically  taken,  ad- 
mits of  a  fourfold  definition  :  and  may  be  consi- 
dered as,  1.  "That  eternal,  most  wise,  and  im- 
mutable decree  of  God,  whereby  he  did,  from 
before  all  time  determine  and  ordain  to  create, 
dispose  of,  and  direct  to  some  particular  end, 
every  person  and  thing  to  which  he  has  given,  or 
is  yet  to  give,  being ;  and  to  make  the  whole  cre- 
ation subservient  to,  and  declarative  of,  his  own 
glory."  Of  this  decree,  actual  providence  is  the 
execution.  2.  Predestination  may  be  consider- 
ed as  relating  generally  to  mankind,  and  them 
only  :  and,  in  this  view,  we  define  it  to  be,  "  The 
everlasting,  sovereign,  and  invariable  purpose  of 
God,  whereby  he  did  determine  within  himself, 
to  create  Adam  in  his  own  image  and  likeness, 
and  then  to  permit  his  fall ;  and  to  suffer  him, 
thereby  to  plunge  himself,  and  his  whole  posteri- 
ty," (inasmuch  as  they  all  sinned  in  him,  not  on- 
ly virtually  but  also  federally  and  representative- 
ly) "  into  the  dreadful  abyss  of  sin,   misery  and 


115 

death."  3.  Consider  predestination  as  relating  to- 
the  elect  only,  and  it  is,  "  That  eternal,  uncondi- 
tional, particular,  and  irreversible  act  of  the  di- 
vine will,  whereby,  in  matchless  love,  and  adora- 
ble sovereignty,  God  determined  within  himself 
to  deliver  a  certain  number  of  Adam's  degene- 
rate* offspring,  out  of  that  sinful  and  miserable 
estate,  into  which,  by  his  primitive  transgression, 
they  were  to  fall :"  and  in  which  sad  condition 
they  were  equally  involved  with  tho.se  who  were 
not  chosen  :  but,  being  pitched  upon,  and  sin- 
gled out  by  God  the  Father,  to  be  vessels  of 
grace  and  salvation  (not  for  any  thing  in  them, 
that  could  recommend  them  to  his  favour,  or  enti- 
tle them  to  his  notice,  but  merely  because  he 
would  shew  himself  gracious  to  them,)  they  were 
in  time  actually  redeemed  by  Christ :  are  effec- 
tually called  by  his  spirit,  justified,  adopted, 
sanctified,  and  preserved  safe  to  his  heavenly 
kingdom.  The  supreme  end  of  this  decree  is 
the  manifestation  of  his  own  infinitely  glorious 
and  amiably  tremendous  perfections  :  the  inferior, 
or  subordinate  end,  is  the  happiness  and  salvation 
of  them  who  are  thus  freely  elected.  4.  Predes- 
tination, as  it  regards  the  reprobate  is,  "That  eter- 
nal, most  holy,  sovereign,    and  immutable  act  of 


*  When  we  say,  that  the  decree  of  predestination  to  life 
and  death  respects  man  as  fallen,  we  do  not  mean,  that  the 
fall  was  actually  antecedent  to  that  decree  :  for  the  decree- 
is  truly  and  properly  eternal,  as  all  God's  immanent  acts  un- 
doubtedly are  ;  whereas  the  fall  took  place  in  time.  What 
we  intend,  then,  is  only  this,  viz.  that  God,  (for  reasons, 
without  doubt,  worthy  of  himself,  and  of  which  we  are,  by 
no  means,  in  this  life  competent  judges)  having,  from  ever- 
lasting, preremptorily  ordained  to  suffer  the  fall  of  Adam  ; 
did  likewise,  from  everlasting,  consider  the  human  race  as 
i'allen :  and,  out  of  the  whole  mass  of  mankind,  tints  viewed 


116 

God's  will,  whereby  he  hath  determined  to  leave* 
some  men  to  perish  in  their  sins,  and  to  be  justly 
punished  for  them." 


and  foreknown  as  impure,  and  obnoxious  to  condemnation; 
vouchsafed  to  select  some  particular  persons,  (who,  collec- 
tively, make  up  a  very  great,  though  precisely  determinate, 
number)  in  and  on  whom  he  would  make  known  the  ineffa- 
ble riches  of  his  merer. 


CHAPTER  II. 


WHEREIN  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  PREDESTINATION 
IS  EXPLAINED,  AS  IT  RELATES  IN  GENERAL 
TO    ALL    MBN. 

JL  HUS  much  being  premised,  with  relation  to 
the  scripture  terms  commonly  made  use  of  in 
this  controversy,  we  shall  now  proceed  to  take  a 
nearer  view  of  this  high  and  mysterious  article, 
And, 
I.  We,  with  the  scriptures,  assert,  That  there 
is  a  predestination  of  some  particular  persons  to 
life,  for  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  divine  grace  ; 
and  a  predestination  of  other  particular  persons 
to  death  :  which  death  of  punishment  they  shall 
inevitably  undergo,  and  that  justly,  on  account 
of  their  sins.  1.  There  is  a  predestination  of 
some  particular  persons  to  life.  So,  Mat.  xx.  15. 
"  Many  are  called  but  few  chosen  ;"  i.  e.  the  gos- 
pel revelation  comes  indiscriminately  to  great 
multitudes  ;  but  few,  comparatively  speaking,  are 
spiritually  and  eternally  the  better  for  it :  and 
these  few,  to  whom  it  is  the  savour  of  life  unto 
life,  are  therefore  savingly  benefited  by  it,  be- 
cause they  are  the  chosen  or  elect  of  God.  To 
the  same  effect  are  the  following  passages,  among 
many  others  :  Mat.  xxiv.  22.  "  For  the  elect's 
sake,  those  days  shall  be  shortened."  Acts  xiii. 
48.  "  As  many  as  were  ordained  to  eternal  life 
believed."  Rom.  viii.  30  "  Whom  he  did  pre-? 
10  * 


118 

destinate,  them  he  also  called."  And  verse  33. 
*'  Who  shall  lay  any  thing  to  the  charge  of  God's 
elect  ?"  Eph.  i.  4,  5.  "  According  as  he  hath 
chosen  us  in  him,  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  that  we  should  be  holy,  &c.  Having  pre- 
destinated us  to  the  adoption  of  children  by  Je- 
sus Christ  unto  himself,  according  to  the  good 
pleasure  of  his  will."  2  Tim.  i.  9.  "  Who  hath 
saved  us,  and  called  us  with  an  holy  calling,  not 
according  to  our  works,  but  according  to  his 
own  purpose  and  grace,  which  was  given  us  in 
Christ  before  the  world  began."  2.  This  elec- 
tion of  certain  individuals  unto  eternal  life  was 
for  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  divine  grace.  This 
is  expressly  asserted  in  so  many  words,  by  the 
apostle,  Eph.  i.  5,  6.  Grace,  or  mere  favour, 
was  the  impulsive  cause  of  all :  It  was  the  main 
spring,  which  set  all  the  inferior  wheels  in  motion. 
It  was  an  act  of  grace  in  God,  to  choose  any, 
when  he  might  have  passed  by  all :  It  was  an  act 
of  sovereign  grace,  to  choose  this  man  rather  than 
that,  when  both  were  equally  undone  in  themselves, 
and  alike  obnoxious  to  his  displeasure.  In  a  word, 
since  election  is  not  of  works,  and  does  not  pro- 
ceed on  the  least  regard  had  to  any  worthiness  in  its 
objects  ;  it  must  be  of  free,  unbiassed  grace  :  but 
election  is  not  of  works,  Rom.  xi.  5,  6.  therefore, 
it  is  solely  of  grace.  3.  There  is,  on  the  other 
hand,  a  predestination  of  some  particular  persons 
to  death.  2  Cor.  iv.  3.  **  If  our  gospe?  be  hid,  it 
is  hid  to  them  that  are  lost."  1  Pet.  ii.  8. 
"  Who  stumble  at  the  word,  being  disobedient ; 
whereunto  also  they  were  appointed."  2  Pet.  ii. 
12.  "These,  as  natural  brute  beasts,  made  to  be 
taken  and  destroyed."  Jude  ver.  4.  "  There  are 
certain  men  crept  in  unawares,  who  were  before 
©f  old  ordained  to  this  condemnation."  Rev. 
xvii.  8.  "  Whose  names  were  not  written  in  the  book 


119 

of  life  from  the  foundation  of  the  world."  But 
of  this  we  shall  treat  professedly,  and  more  at 
large,  in  the  fifth  chapter.  4.  This  future  death 
they  shall  inevitably  undergo :  for,  as  God  will 
certainly  save  all  whom  he  wills  sho.ild  be  sav- 
ed ;  so  he  will  as  surely  condemn  all  whom  he 
wills  shall  be  condemned  ;  for  he  is  the  Judge  of 
the  whole  earth,  whose  decree  shall  stand,  and 
from  whose  sentence  there  is  no  appeal.  "  Hath 
he  said,  and  shall  he  not  make  it  good  ?  hath  he 
spoken,  and  shall  it  not  come  to  pass  ?"  And 
his  decree  is  this  ;  that  these,  i.  e.  the  non-elect, 
who  are  left  under  the  guilt  of  final  impenitence, 
unbelief,  and  sin,  shall  go  away  into  everlasting 
punishment ;  and  the  righteous, .  i.  e.  those  who, 
in  consequence  of  their  election  in  Christ,  and 
union  to  him,  are  justly  reputed,  and  really  con- 
stituted such,  shall  enter  into  life  eternal,  Mat. 
xxv.  46.  5.  The  reprobate  shall  undergo  this  pun- 
ishment justly,  and  on  account  of  their  sins.  Sin 
is  the  meritorious  and  immediate  cause  of  any 
man's  damnation.  God  condemns  and  punishes 
the  non-elect,  not  merely  as  men,  but  as  sinners  : 
and,  had  it  pleased  the  great  Governor  of  the  uni- 
verse, to  have  entirely  prevented  sin  from  having 
any  entrance  into  the  world,  it  should  seem  as  if 
he  could  not,  consistently  with  his  known  attri- 
butes, have  condemned  any  man  at  all.  But,  as 
all  sin  is  properly  meritorious  of  eternal  death  ; 
and  all  men  are  sinners  ;  they,  Avho  are  condemn- 
ed, are  condemned  most  justly,  and  those  who 
are  saved,  are  saved  in  a  way  of  sovereign  mer- 
cy, through  the  vicarious  obedience  and  death  of 
Christ  for  them. 

Now,  this  twofold  predestination,  of  some  to 
life,  and  of  others  to  death,  (if  it  may  be  called 
twofold,  both  being  constituent  parts  of  the  same 
decree)  cannot  be  denied,  without  likewise  deny- 


120 

ing,  1.  most  express  and  frequent  declarations 
of  scripture,  and,  2.  the  very  existence  of  God  : 
for,  since  God  is  a  being  perfectly  simple,  free 
from  all  accident  and  composition  ;  and  yet,  a 
will  to  save  some  and  punish  others,  is  very  often 
predicated  of  him  in  scripture  ;  and  an  immove- 
able decree  to  do  this  in  consequeuce  of  his  will, 
is  likewise  ascribed  to  him  ;  and  a  perfect  fore- 
knowledge, of  the  sure  and  certain  accomplish- 
ment of  what  he  has  thus  willed  and  decreed,  is 
also  attributed  to  him  ;  it  follows,  that  whoever 
denies  this  will,  decree,  and  foreknowledge  of 
God,  does  implicitly  and  virtually,  deny  God 
himself :  since  his  will,  decree,  and  foreknow- 
ledge are  no  other  than  God  himself  willing,  and 
decreeing,  and  foreknowing. 

II.  We  assert,  that  God  did  from  eternity  de- 
cree to  make  man  in  his  own  image  ;  and  also 
decreed  to  suffer  him  to  fall  from  that  image  in 
which  he  should  be  created,  and,  thereby  to  for- 
feit the  happiness  with  which  he  was  invested  : 
which  decree,  and  the  consequences  of  it,  were 
not  limited  to  Adam  only  ;  but  included,  and  ex- 
tended to  all  his  natural  posterity. 

Something  of  this  was  hinted  already  in  the 
preceding  chapter  :  we  shall  now  proceed  to  the 
proof  of  it.  And,  1.  That  God  did  make  man 
in  his  own  image,  is  evident  from  scripture,  Gen. 
i.  27".  2.  That  he  decreed  from  eternity  so  to 
make  man,  is  as  evident;  since,  for  God  to  do  any 
thing  without  having  decreed  it,  or  fixed  a  pre- 
vious plan  in  his  own  mind,  would  be  a  manifest 
imputation  on  his  wisdom  :  and,  if  he  decreed 
that  now,  or  at  any  time,  which  he  did  not 
always  decree,  he  could  not  be  unchangeable. 
3.  That  man  actualy  did  fall  from  the  divine  im- 
age and  his  original  happiness,  is  the  undoubted 
voice  of  scripture,  Gen.  iii.     And,   4.  That  he 


121 


fell  in  consequence  of  the  divine  decree,*  we 
prove  thus  :  God  was  either  willing  that  Adam 
should  fall,  or  unwilling,  or  indifferent  about  it. 
If  od  was  unwilling  that  Adam  should  trans- 
gress, how  came  it  pass  that  he  did?  Is  man 
stronger,  and  is  Satan  wiser,  than  he  that  made 
them  ?  Surely,  no.  Again ;  could  not  God,  had 
it  so  pleased  him,  have  hindered  the  tempter's 
access  to  paradise  ?  or  have  created  man,  as  he 
did  the  elect  angels,  with  a  will  invariably  deter- 
mined to  good  only,  and  incapable  of  being  bias- 
ed to  evil  ?  or,  at  least,  have  made  the  grace  and 
strength,  with  which  he  indued  Adam,  actually 
effectual  to  the  resisting  of  all  solicitations  10  sin  ? 
None  but  atheists  would  answer  these  questions 
in  the  negative.  Surely,  if  God  had  not  willed 
the  fall,  he  could,  and  no  doubt  would,  have  pre- 
vented it :  but  he  did  not  prevent  it :  Ergo,  he 
willed  it.  And,  if  he  willed  it,  he  certainly  de- 
creed it :  for  the  decree  of  God  is  nothing  else 
but  the  seal  and  ratification  of  his  will.  He  does 
nothing  but  what  he  decreed ;  and  he  decreed 
nothing  which  he  did  not  will :  and  both  will  and 
decree  are  absolutely  eternal,  though  the  execu- 
tion of  both  be  in  time.  The  only  way  to  evade 
the  force  of  this  reasoning,  is  to  say,  that  "  God 
was  indifferent  and  unconcerned,  whether  man 
stood  or  fell."  But  in  what  a  shameful,  unwor- 
thy light  does  this  represent  the  Deity  !  Is  it  pos- 
sible for  us  to  imagine,  that  God  could  be  an  idle, 
careless  spectator,  of  one  of  the  most  important 
events  that  ever  came  to  pass  ?  Are  not  "  the  very 
hairs  of  our  head  all  numbered  ?"  or  does 
"  a  sparrow  fall  to  the  ground,    without  our  hea- 


*   See  this  article  judiciously  stated,  and  nervously  assay- 
ed by  Witsiu",  in  his  E?on.  1.  1.  cap-  8.  s-  10 — 25. 


122 

venly  Father  V  If  then  things,  the  most  trival 
and  worthless,  are  subject  to  the  appointment  of 
his  decree,  and  the  control  of  his  providence  ;  how 
much  more  is  man,  the  master-piece  of  this  low- 
er creation  ?  and  above  all,  that  man  Adam,  who, 
when  recent  from  his  Maker's  hands,  was  the 
living  image  of  God  himfelf,  and  very  little  infe- 
rior to  angels  !  and  on  whose  perseverance  was 
suspended  the  welfare,  not  of  himself  only,  but 
likewise  that  of  the  whole  world.  But,  so  far 
was  God  from  being  indifferent  in  this  matter, 
that  there  is  nothing  whatever,  about  which  he  is 
so  ;  for  he  worketh  all  things  without  exception, 
after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will,  Eph.  i.  11.  con- 
sequently, if  he  positively  wills  whatever  is  done, 
he  cannot  be  indifferent  with  regard  to  any  thing. 
On  the  whole,  if  God  was  not  unwilling  that  Adam 
should  fall,  he  must  have  been  willing  that  he 
should  ;  since,  between  God's  willing  and  nilling, 
there  is  no  medium.  And  is  it  not  highly  rational, 
as  well  as  scriptural  j  nay,  is  it  not  absolutely  ne- 
cessary, to  suppose,  that  the  fall  was  not  contrary 
to  the  will  and  determination  of  God  ?  since,  if  it 
was,  his  will  (which  the  apostle  represents  as  be- 
ing irresistible,  Rom.  ix.  19.)  was  apparently 
frustrated,  and  his  determination  rendered  of 
worse  than  none  effect.  And  how  dishonourable  to, 
how  inconsistent  with,  and  how  notoriously  sub- 
versive of,  the  dignity  of  God,  such  a  blasphemous 
supposition  would  be,  and  how  irreconcileable  with 
every  one  of  his  allowed  attributes,  is  very  easy  to 
observe.  5.  That  man,  by  his  fall,  forfeited  the  hap- 
piness with  which  he  was  invested,  is  evident,  as 
well  from  scripture  as  from  experience ;  Gen.  iii. 
7,  10,  16,  17,  18,  19,  23,  24.  Rom.  v.  12.  Gal. 
iii.  10.  He  first  sinned,  (and  the  essence  of  sin 
lies  in  disobedience  to  the  command  of  God)  and 
then  immediately  became  miserable  ;  misery  be- 


123 

ing,  through  the  divine  appointment,  the  natural 
and  inseparable  concomitant  of  sin.     6.  That  the 
fall,  and  its  sad  consequences,  did  not  terminate 
solely  in  Adam,  but  affect  his  whole  posterity,  is 
the    doctrine    of  the   sacred  oracles :    Ps.  li.   5. 
Rom.  v.  12,  14,  15,  17,  18,  19.     1    Cor.  xv.  22. 
Eph.  ii.  3.     Besides,  not  only  spiritual  and  eter- 
nal,   but  likewise  temporal  death  is  the  wages  of 
sin,  Rom.  vi.  23.  James  i.  15.     And  yet  we  see 
that  millions  of  infants,  who  never,  in  their  own 
persons,  either  did  or  could  commit  sin,  die  con- 
tinually.    It  follows,  that  either  God  must  be  un- 
just in  punishing  the  innocent;  or  that  these  in- 
fants are,  some  way  or  other,  guilty  creatures  :  if 
they  are  not  so  in  themselves,    (I  mean  actually 
so,    by  their  own  commission  of   sin)  they  must 
be  so  in  some  other  person  ;  and  who  that  person 
is,  let  scripture  say,  Rom.  v.  12,  18.   1  Cor.  xv. 
22.     And,  I  ask,  how  can  these  be,  with  equity, 
sharers    in  Adam's   punishment,  unless  they  are 
chargeable  with   his  sin?   and  how   can   they  be 
fairly  chargeable  with  his  sin,  unless  he  was  their 
federal  head  and  representative,  and  acted  in  their 
name,  and  sustained  their  persons  when  he  fell  ? 
III.     We  assert,  that  as  all  men,  universally, 
are  not  elected  to  salvation  ;  so  neither  are  all 
men,    universally,     ordained    to    condemnation. 
This  follows  from  what  has  been  proved  already  : 
however,  I  shall  subjoin  some  farther  demonstra- 
tion of  these  two  positions.     1 .  All  men  universal- 
ly are  not  elected  to  salvation.     And,  first,  this 
may  be  evinced  a  posteriori :   it  is  undeniable, 
from  scripture,  that  God  will  not  in  the  last  day, 
save  every  individual  of  mankind,  Dan.  xii.  2. 
IMat.  xxv.  46.  John  v.  29.     Therefore,  say  we, 
God  never  designed  to  save  every  individual ; 
since,  if  he  had,  every  individual  would  and  must 
be  saved,  for  "  his  counsel  shall  stand,  and  he 


124 

will  do  all  his  pleasure."     See  what  we  have  al- 
ready advanced  on  this  head,  in  the  first  chapter, 
under  the  second  article,  Position  8.     Secondly, 
this  may  be  evinced  also  from  God's  foreknow- 
ledge.    The  Deity,  from  all  eternity,  and  conse- 
quently, at  the  very  time  he  gives  life  and  being 
to  a  reprobate,  certainly  foreknew,  and  knows,  in 
consequence  of  his  own  decree,  that  such  an  one 
would  fall  short  of  salvation  :  now,  if  God  fore- 
knew this,  he  must  have  predetermined  it ;  be- 
cause  his  own  will  is  the  foundation  of  his  de- 
crees, and  his  decrees  are  the  foundation  of  his 
prescience ;  he  therefore  foreknowing  futurities, 
because,  by  his  predestination,  he  hath  rendered 
their  futurition  certain  and  inevitable.       Neither 
is  it  possible,  in  the  very  nature  of  the    thing, 
that  they  should  be  elected  to  salvation,  or  ever 
obtain   it,  whom   God  foreknew  should  perish  : 
for  then  the  divine  act  of  pretention  would  be 
changeable,  wavering  and  precarious  ,•  the  divine 
foreknowledge   would  be  deceived ;  and  the  di- 
vine will  impeded.     All  which  are  utterly  im- 
possible.    Lastly,  That  all  men  are  not  chosen 
to  life,  nor  created  to  that  end,  is  evident,  in  that 
there   are  some  who  were  hated  of  God  before 
they  were   born,  Rom.  ix.  11,  12,  13.  are  fitted 
for  destruction,  verse  22.   and  made  for  the  day 
of  evil,  Prov.  xvi.  4. 

But,  2.  All  men  universally  are  not  ordained 
to  condemnation.  There  are  some  who  are  cho- 
sen, Mat.  xx.  1G.  An  election,  or  elect  number, 
who  obtain  grace  and  salvation,  while  the  rest  are 
blinded,  Rom.  xi.  7.  a  little  flock,  to  whom  it  is 
the  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  the  kingdom, 
Luke  xii.  21.  A  people  whom  the  Lord  hath 
reserved,  Jer.  1.  20.  and  formed  for  himself,  Isai. 
xliii.  21.  A  peculiarly  favoured  race,  to  whom  it 
is  given  to  know  the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom 


1^5 

of  heaven ;  while,  to  others,  it  is  not  given, 
Mat.  xiii.  11.  A  remnant  according  to  the  election 
of  grace,  Rom.  xi.  5.  Whom  God  hath  not  ap- 
pointed to  wrath,  but  to  obtain  salvation  by  Je- 
sus Christ,  1  Thess.  v.  9.  In  a  word,  who  are  a 
chosen  generation,  a  royal  priesthood,  an  holy  na- 
tion, a  peculiar  people,  that  they  should  shew 
forth  the  praises  of  him  who  hath  called  them 
out  of  darkness  into  his  marvellous  light,  1  Pet. 
ii.  9.  And  whose  names,  for  that  very  end,  are 
in  the  book  of  life,  Phil.  iv.  3.  and  written  in 
heaven,  Luke  x.  20.  Heb.  xii.  23.  Luther* 
observes,  that,  in  the  9th,  10th,  and  11th  chapters 
of  the  epistle  to  the  Romans,  the  apostle  particu- 
larly insists  on  the  doctrine  of  predestination; 
"  Because,"  says  he,  "all  things  whatever, 
arise  from,  and  depend  upon,  the  divine  appoint- 
ment ;  whereby  it  was  preordained  who  should 
receive  the  word  of  life,  and  who  should  disbe- 
lieve it ;  who  should  be  delivered  from  their 
sins,  and  who  should  be  hardened  in  them  ;  and 
who  should  be  justified,  and  who  condemned." 

IV.  We  assert,  that  the  number  of  the  elect, 
and  also  of  the  reprobate,  is  so  fived  and  deter- 
mined, that  neither  can  be  augmented  or  dimi- 
nished. 

It  is  written  of  God,  that  he  telle  th  the  num- 
ber of  the  stars,  and  calleth  them  all  by  their 
names,  Psalm  c  lvii.  4*.  Now  it  is  as  incompa- 
tible with  the  infinite  wisdom  and  knowledge  of 
the  all-comprehending  God,  to  be  ignorant  of  the 
names  and  number  of  the  rational  creatures  he 
has  made,  as  that  he  should  be  ignorant  of  the 
stars  and  the  other  inanimate  products  of  his  al- 
mighty power  :  and,  if  he  knows  all  men  in  gene- 


*  fit  Prsfat.  ad  cpist.  ad  Horn. 
11 


126 

ral  taken  in  the  lump,  he  may  well  be  said,  in  a 
more  near  and  special  sense,  to  know  them  that 
are  his  by  election,  2  Tim.  ii.  19.     And,  if  he 
knows  who  are  his,  he  must,  consequently,  know 
whp  are  not  his,  i.  e.  whom,  and  how  many  he 
hath  left  in  the  corrupt  mass,  to  be  justly  punish- 
ed for  their  sins.     Grant  this,  (and  who  can  help 
granting  a  truth  so  self-evident  ?)  and  it  follows 
that  the  number,  as   well  of  the   elect  as   of  the 
reprobate,  is   fixed  and  certain  :  otherwise  God 
would  be  said  to  know  that  which  is  not  true,  and 
his  knowledge  must  be  false  and  delusive,  and  so 
no  knowledge  at  all :  since  that  which  is  in  it- 
self,   at  best  but  precarious,  can  never  be  the 
foundation    of   sure   and    infallible    knowledge. 
But  that  God  does  indeed  precisely  know  to  a  man 
who  are  and  who  are  not,  the  objects  of  his  electing 
favour,  is  evident  from  such  scriptures  as  these, 
Exod.  xxxiii.  17.     "Thou  hast  found  grace  in 
my  sight,  and  I  know  thee  by  name."  Jer.  i.  5. 
"  Before  I  formed  thee  in  the  belly,  I  knew  thee." 
Luke  x.  20.  '*  Your  names  are  written   in  hea- 
ven." Luke   xii.  7.     "  The   very  hairs  of  your 
head  are  all  numbered."  John  xiii.  18.     "I  know 
whom   I  have  chosen."  John  x.    14.     "I  know 
my  sheep,  and  am  known  of  mine."  2  Tim.  ii.  19. 
"  The  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  his."     And, 
if  the  number  of  these   is  thus  assuredly  settled 
and  exactly  known,  it  follows  that  we  are  right 
in  asserting, 

V.  That  the  decrees  of  election  and  reproba- 
tion are  immutable  and  irreversible. 

Were  not  this  the  case,  1.  God's  decrees 
would  be  precarious,  frustrable,  and  uncertain  ; 
and,  by  consequence,  no  decree  at  all.  2.  His 
foreknowledge  would  be  wavering,  indetermi- 
nate, and  liable  to  disappointment ;  whereas,  it 
always  has  its  accomplishment,   and  necessarily 


127 

infers  the  certain  futurity  of  the  thing  or  things 
foreknown  :  Isa.  xlvi.  9,  10.  "  I  am  God,  and 
there  is  none  like  me,  declaring  the  end  from 
the  beginning  and  from  ancient  times  the  things 
that  are  not  yet  done  ;  saying,  My  counsel  shall 
stand,  and  I  will  do  all  my  pleasure."  3.  Nei- 
ther would  his  word  be  true,  which  declares,  that, 
with  regard  to  the  elect,  the  gifts  and  calling  of 
God  are  without  repentance,  Rom.  xi.  29.  that 
whom  he  predestinated,  them  he  also  glorified, 
chap.  vii.  80.  that  whom  he  loveth,  he  loveth  to 
the  end,  John  xiii.  1.  with  numberless  passages  to 
the  same  purpose.  Nor  would  his  word  be  true, 
with  regard  to  the  non-elect,  if  it  was  possible 
for  them  to  be  saved ;  for  it  is  there  declared, 
that  they  are  fitted  for  destruction,  &c.  Rom.  ix. 
22.  Foreordained  unto  condemnation,  Jude  4. 
and  delivered  over  to  a  reprobate  mind,  in  order 
to  their  damnation,  Rom.  i.  28.  2  Thess.  ii.  12. 
4.  If,  between  the  elect  and  reprobate,  there  was 
not  a  great  gulf  fixed,  so  that  neither  can  be 
otherwise  than  they  are  ;  then,  the  will  of  God 
(which  is  the  alone  cause  why  some  are  chosen 
and  others  are  not)  would  be  rendered  ineffica- 
cious and  of  no  effect.  5.  Nor  could  the  justice 
of  God  stand,  if  he  was  to  condemn  the  elect, 
for  whose  sins  he  hath  received  ample  satisfac- 
tion at  the  hand  of  Christ ;  or  if  he  was  to  save 
the  reprobate,  who  are  not  interested  in  Christ, 
as  the  elect  are.  6.  The  power  of  God  (whereby 
the  elect  are  preserved  from  falling  into  a  state  of 
condemnation,  and  the  wicked  held  down  and  shut 
up  in  a  state  of  death)  would  be  eluded,  not  to  say 
utterly  abolished.  7.  Nor  would  God  be  unchange- 
able, if  they,  who  were  once  the  people  of  his  love, 
could  commence  the  objects  of  his  hatred  ;  or  if 
the  vessels  of  his  wrath  could  be  saved  with  the 


128 

vessels  of  grace.  Hence  that  of  St.  Austin  ;* 
"Brethren,"  says  he,  "let  us  not  imagine,  that 
God  puts  down  any  man  in  his  book,  and  then  era- 
ses him  :  for,  if  Pilate  could  say,  what  I  have  writ- 
ten I  have  written,  how  can  it  be  thought  that  the 
griat  God  would  write  a  person's  name  in  the  book 
of  life,  and  then  blot  it  out  again  V?  And  may  we 
not,  with  equal  reason,  ask,  on  the  other  hand, 
How  can  it  be  thought,  that  any  of  the  reprobate 
should  be  written  in  that  book  of  life,  which  con- 
tains the  names  of  the  elect  only  ?  or,  that  any 
should  be  inserted  therer  who  were  not  written 
among  the  living  from  eternity  ?  I  shall  conclude 
this  chapter  with  that  observation  of  Luther,f 
"  This,"  says  he,  "is  the  very  thing  that  rases  the 
doctrine  of  free-will  from  its  foundations  ;  to  wit, 
that  God's  eternal  love  of  some  men,  and  hatred 
of  others,  is  immutable  and  cannot  be  reversed." 
Both  one  and  the  other  will  have  its  full  accom- 
plishment. 


*  Tom.  8.  in  Psalm  68.  col.  738.    f  Dc  Sen-.  Arbiter,  c.-ip.  1S8~ 


CHAPTER  III. 


CONCERNING  ELECTION  UNTO  LIFE  ,'  OR  PRE- 
DESTINATION, AS  IT  RESPECTS  THE  SAINTS 
IN    PARTICULAR. 

HAVING  considered  predestination,  as  it  re- 
gards all  men  in  general ;  and  briefly  shewn  that 
by  it,  some  are  appointed  to  wrath,  and  others  to 
obtain  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ,  1  Thess.  v.  9.  I 
now  come  to  consider  more  distinctly  that 
branch  of  it,  which  relates  to  the  saints  only,  and 
is  commonly  styled  election.  Its  definition  I 
have  given  already  in  the  close  of  the  first  chap- 
ter :  what  I  have  further  to  advance  from  the 
scriptures  on  this  important  subject,  I  shall  re- 
duce to  several  positions,  and  subjoin  a  short  ex- 
planation and  confirmation  of  each. 

Pos.  1.  Those  who  are  ordained  unto  eternal 
life  were  not  so  ordained  on  account  of  any  wor- 
thiness foreseen  in  them,  or  of  any  good  works 
to  be  wrought  by  thtm ;  nor  yet  for  their  future 
faith  :  but  purely  and  solely,  of  free,  sovereign 
grace,  and  according  to  the  mere  pleasure  of  God. 
This  is  evident,  among  other  considerations,  from 
this  ;  that  faith,  repentance  and  holiness,  are  no  less 
the  free  gifts  of  God,  than  eternal  life  itself.  Eph. 
ii.  8.  M  Faith — is  not  of  yourselves,  it  is  the  gift 
of  God.  Phil.  i.  29.  "  Unto  you  it  is  given  to 
believe."  Acts  v.  31.  "  Him  hath  God  exalted 
with  his  right  hand,  for  to  give  repentance." 
Acts  xi.  18.  "  Then  hath  God  also  to  the  Gen- 
ii * 


130 

tiles  granted  repentance  unto  life."  In  like  man- 
ner, holiness  is  called  the  sanctification  of  the 
Spirit,  2  Thess.  ii.  13.  because  the  divine  Spirit 
is  the  efficient  of  it  in  the  soul,  and,  of  unholy, 
makes  us  holy.  Now,  if  repentance  and  faith 
are  the  gifts,  and  sanctification  is  the  work  of 
God,  then  these  are  not  the  fruits  of  man's  free 
will,  nor  what  he  acquires  of  himself;  and  so 
can  neither  be  motives  to,  nor  conditions  of,  his 
election,  which  is  an  act  of  the  divine  mind,  an- 
tecedent to,  and  irrespective  of,  all  qualities  what- 
ever, in  the  persons  elected.  Besides,  the  apos- 
tle asserts  expressly,  that  election  is  "  not  of 
works,  but  of  him  that  calleth  ;"  and  that  it  pass- 
ed before  the  persons  concerned  had  "  done 
either  good  or  evil,"  Rom.  ix.  11.  Again,  if 
faith  or  works  were  the  cause  of  election,  God 
could  not  be  said  to  choose  us,  but  we  to  choose 
him  ;  contrary  to  the  whole  tenor  of  scripture  ; 
John  xv.  16.  "  Ye  have  not  chosen  me,  but  I 
have  chosen  you."  1  John  iv.  10,  19.  "  Hereia 
is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but  that  he  loved 
us.  We  love  him,  because  he  first  loved  us." 
Election  is  ever)'  where  asserted  to  be  God's 
act  and  not  man's,  Mark  xiii.  20.  Rom.  ix.  17. 
Eph.  i.  4.  1  Thess.  v.  9.  2  Thess.  ii.  13.  Once 
more,  we  are  chosen  that  we  might  be  holy,  not 
because  it  was  foreseen  we  would  be  so,  Eph.  r. 
4.  Therefore,  to  represent  holiness  as  the  reason 
why  we  were  elected,  is  to  make  the  effect  ante- 
cedent to  the  cause.  The  apostle  adds,  verse  5. 
*'  having  predestinated  us  according  to  the  good 
pleasure  of  his  will  :"  most  evidently  implying, 
that  God  saw  nothing  extra  se,  had  no  motive 
from  without,  why  he  should  either  choose  any 
at  all,  or  this  man  before  another.  In  a  word, 
the  elect  were  "-freely  loved,"  Hos.  xiv.  4. 
u  freely  chosen,"  Rom.  xi.  5,  6.  and  "  freely  re- 


131 

deemed,"  Isa.  Hi.  3.  they  are  "  freely  called," 
2  Tim.  i.  9.  "  freely  justified,"  Rom.  iii.  24. 
and  shall  be  "freely  glorified,"  Rom.  v.  23. 
The  great  Augustine  in  his  book  of  Retractions, 
ingenuously  acknowledges  his  error  in  having 
once  thought,  that  faith  foreseen  was  a  condition 
of  election  :  he  owns  that  that  opinion  is  equal- 
ly impious  and  absurd  ;  and  proves  that  faith  is 
one  of  the  fruits  of  election,  and  consequently, 
could  not  be  in  any  sense  a  cause  of  it :  "I  could 
never  have  asserted,"  says  he,  "that  God,  in  choos- 
ing men  to  life,  had  any  respect  to  their  faith, 
had  I  duly  considered  that  faith  itself  is  his  own 
gift."  And,  in  another  treatise  of  his,*  he  has 
these  words  ;  u  Since  Christ  says,  ye  have  not 
chosen  me,  &c.  I  would  fain  ask,  whether  it  be 
scriptural  to  say,  we  must  have  faith  before  we 
are  elected  ;  and  not  rather,  that  we  are  elected 
in  order  to  our  having  faith  !" 

Pos.  2.  As  many  as  are  ordained  to  eternal 
life,  are  ordained  to  enjoy  that  life  in  and  through 
Christ,  and  on  account  of  his  merits  alone,  1 
Thess.  v.  9.  Here  let  it  be  carefully  observed, 
that  not  the  merits  of  Christ,  but  the  sovereign 
love  of  God  only,  is  the  cause  of  election  itself : 
but  then,  the  merits  of  Christ  are  the  alone  pro- 
curing cause  of  that  salvation  to  which  men  are 
elected.  This  decree  of  v  od  admits  of  no  cause 
but  of  himself;  but  the  thing  decreed,  which  is 
the  glorification  of  his  chosen  ones,  may  and. 
does  admit,  nay,  necessarily  requires,  a  meritori- 
ous cause ;  which  is  no  other  than  the  obedience 
and  death  of  Christ. 

Pos.  3.  They  who  are  predestinated  to  life, 
are    likewise    predestinated    to   all  those  means 


De  Prxdest  cap.  IT. 


132 

which  are  indispensably  necessary  in  order  to 
their  meetness  for,  entrance  upon,  and  enjoyment 
of,  that  life  :  such  as  repentance,  faith,  sanctifica- 
tion,  and  perseverance  in  these  to  the  end. 

Acts  xiii.  48.  u  As  many  as  were  ordained  to 
eternal  life  believed."  Eph.  i.  4.  "  He  hath 
chosen  us  in  him,  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  that  we  should  be  holy,  and  without  blame 
before  him  in  love."  Eph.  ii.  10.  "  For  we  [i.  e. 
the  same  we,  whom  he  hath  chosen  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world]  are  his  workmanship, 
created  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works,  which 
God  hath  foreordained  that  we  should  walk  in 
them."  And  the  apostle  assures  the  same  Thes- 
salonians  whom  he  reminds  of  their  election, 
and  God's  everlasting  appointment  of  them  to 
obtain  salvation,  that  this  also  was  his  will  con- 
cerning them,  even  their  sanctification.  1  Thess. 
i.  4.  and  v.  9.  and  iv.  3.  and  gives  them  a  view 
of  all  these  privileges  at  once,  2  Thess.  ii.  13. 
"  God  hath,  from  the  beginning,  chosen  you  to 
salvation,  through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit, 
and  belief  of  the  truth."  As  does  St.  Peter, 
1  Pet.  1.  2.  '■'■elect — through  sanctification  of  the 
Spirit,  unto  obedience,  and  sprinkling  of  the 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ."  Now,  though  faith  and 
holiness  are  not  represented  as  the  cause  where- 
fore the  elect  are  saved ;  yet,  these  are  con- 
stantly represented,  as  the  means  through  which 
they  are  saved,  or  as  the  appointed  way  wherein 
God  leads  his  people  to  glorv  :  these  blessings  be- 
ing always  bestowed  previous  to  that.  Agree- 
able to  all  which  is  that  of  Austin  :*  Whatso- 
ever persons  are,  through  the  riches  of  divine 
grace,  exempted  from  the   original  sentence  of 


•  De  Corrept.  &  Grat  cap.  7- 


133 

condemnation,  are  undoubtedly  brought  to  hear 
the  Gospel  ;*  and  when  heard  they  are  caused  to 
believe  it ;  and  are  made  likewise  to  endure  to 
the  end,  in  the  faith  which  works  by  love  :  and 
should  they  at  any  time  go  astray,  they  are  re- 
covered and  set  right  again."  A  little  after  he 
adds  ;  "  All  these  things  are  wrought  in  them 
by  that  God,  who  made  them  vessels  of  mere}-, 
and  who,  by  the  election  of  his  grace  chose  them 
in  his  Son,  before  the  world  began." 

Pos.  4.  Not  one  of  the  elect  can  perish,  but 
they  must  all  necessarily  be  saved.  The  reason 
is  this ;  because  God  simply  and  unchangeably 
wills,  that  all  and  every  one  of  those  whom  he 
hath  appointed  to  life  should  be  eternally  glori- 
fied ;  and,  as  was  observed  toward  the  end  of 
the  preceding  chapter,  all  the  divine  attributes 
are  concerned  in  the  accomplishment  of  this  his 
will.  His  wisdom  which  cannot  err  ;  his  know- 
ledge which  cannot  be  deceived  ;  his  truth  which 
cannot  fail ;  his  love,  which  nothing  can  alien- 
ate ;  his  justice,  which  cannot  condemn  any, 
for  whom  Christ  died  ;  his  power,  which  none 
can  resist ;  and  his  unchangeableness,  which  can 
never  vary  :  from  all  which  it  appears  that  we 
do  not  speak  at  all  improperly,  when  we  say,  that 
the  salvation  of  his  people  is  necessary  and  cer- 
tain. Now,  that  rs  said  to  be  necessary,  quod 
ncquit  allter  esse,  which  cannot  be  otherwise  than 
it  is  :  and  if  all  the  perfections  of  God  are  enga- 
ged to  preserve  and  save  his  children,  their  safe- 
ty and  salvation  must  be,  in  the  strictest  sense  of 


*  We  must  understand  this  in  a  qualified  sense,  as  in- 
tending- that  all  those  of  the  elect,  who  live  where  the  chris- 
tian dispensation  obtains,  are,  sooner  or  later,  brought  to 
bear  the  gospel,  and  to  believe  it. 


134 

the  word  necessary.  See  Psalm  ciii.  17.  and 
exw.  1,  2.  Isaiah  xlv.  17.  and  liv.  9,  10.  Jer. 
xxxi.  38.  and  xxxii.  40.  John  vi.  39.  and  x.  28, 
29.  and  xiv.  19.  and  xvii.  12.  Rom.  viii.  30,  38, 
39,  and  xi.  29.  1  Cor.  i.  8,  9.  Phil.  i.  6.  1  Pet.  i. 
4',  5. 

Thus  St.  Austin,*  "  Of  those  whom  God  hath 
predestinated,  none  can  perish,  inasmuch  as  they 
are  his  own  elect."  And,  ib.  "  They  are  the 
elect,  who  are  predestinated,  foreknown,  and  call- 
ed according  to  purpose.  Now,  could  any  of 
these  be  lost,  God  would  be  disappointed  of  his 
will  and  expectations ;  but  he  cannot  be  so  dis- 
appointed :  therefore,  they  can  never  perish. 
Again,  could  they  be  lost,  the  power  of  God 
would  be  made  void  by  man's  sin  ;  but  his  power 
is  invincible  :  therefore,  they  are  safe."  And 
again,  cap.  9.  "  The  children  of  God  are  written 
with  an  unshaken  stability,  in  the  book  of  their 
heavenly  Father's  remembrance."  And,  in  the 
same  chapter  he  hath  these  words  j  "  Not  the 
children  of  promise  but  the  children  of  perdi- 
tion shall  perish  :  for  the  former  are  the  predes- 
tinated, who  are  called  according  to  the  divine 
determination ;  not  one  of  whom  shall  finally 
miscarry."  So  likewise  Luther,\  "  God's  decree 
of  predestination  is  firm  and  certain  ;  and  the  ne- 
cessity resulting  from  it  is,  in  like  manner,  im- 
moveable, and  cannot  but  take  place.  For  we 
ourselves  are  so  feeble,  that  if  the  matter  was 
left  in  our  hands,  very  few,  or  rather  none  would 
be  saved  :  but  Satan  would  overcome  us  all."  To 
which  he  adds  :  "  Now,  since  this  steadfast  and 
inevitable  purpose  of  God  cannot  be  reversed  nor 


*  Tom.  7    De   Corn   &   Grat.  cap.  7. 
f  In  Prxfat  ad  Epist.  ad  Rom. 


135 

disannulled  by  any  creature  whatever ;  we  have 
a  most  assured  hope,  that  we  shall  finally  tri- 
umph over  sin,  how  violently  soever  it  may  at 
present  rage  in  our  mortal  bodies." 

Pos.  5.  The  salvation  of  the  elect  was  not  the 
only,  nor  yet  the  principal  end  of  their  being  cho- 
sen ;  but  God's  grand  end  in  appointing  them  to 
life  and  happiness,  was  to  display  the  riches  of 
his  own  mercy,  and  that  he  might  be  glorified  in 
and  by  the  persons  he  had  thus  chosen. 

For  this  reason,  the  elect  are  styled  vessels  of 
mercv,  because  they  were  originally  created,  and 
afterwards,  by  the  divine  Spirit  created  anew, 
with  this  design,  and  to  this  very  end,  that  the 
sovereignty  of  the  Father's  grace,  the  freeness  of 
his  love,  and  the  abundance  of  his  goodness, 
might  be  manifested  in  their  eternal  happiness. 
Now  God,  as  we  have  already  more  than  once 
had  occasion  to  observe,  does  nothing  in  time 
which  he  did  not  from  eternity  resolve  within 
himself  to  do  :  and  if  he  in  time  creates  and  re- 
generates his  people,  with  a  view  to  display  his 
unbounded  mercy  ;  he  must  consequently  have 
decreed  from  all  eternity  to  do  this  with  the  same 
view.  So  that  the  final  causes  of  election  appear 
to  be  these  two  :   1.  and  principally,  The*  glory 


*  Let  it  be  carefully  observed,  that,  when  with  the  scrip- 
lares  we  assert  the  glory  of  God  to  be  the  ultimate  end  of 
liis  dealings  with  angels  and  men,  we  do  not  speak  this  with 
respect  to  his  essential  glory,  which  he  has  as  God,  *nd 
which,  as  is  infinite  it  is  not  susceptible  of  addition,  nor  ca- 
pable of  diminution  :  but  of  that  glory  which  is  purely  man?- 
festative,  and  which  Mircroelius  in  his  Ltxic.  Pliilosoph.  col. 
471.  defines  to  be,  "  Clara  rei,  cum  laude,  notitia;  cum,  nem- 
pe,  ipsa  sua  eminentia  est  magna,  augusta,  et  conspicna." 
And  the  accurate  Mastright.  Celebrato.ceu  manifestatio,  (quae 
magis  proprie  glorificatio,  quam  gloria,  appeliatur)  qua,  ag- 
nita  intus  eminentia,  ejusque  congrua  xstimaiio,  propalatur 
&  extollitur.     Theolog.  lib.  2-  cap/22,  s.  8. 


136 

of  God ;  2.  and  subordinately,  The  salvation  of 
those  he  has  elected  :  from  which  the  former  ari- 
ses, and  by  which  it  is  illustrated  and  set  off.  So, 
Prov.  xvi.  4.  "  The  Lord  hath  made  all  things 
for  himself."  And  hence  that  of  Paul,  Eph.  i. 
44  He  hath  chosen  us to  the  praise  of  the  glo- 
ry of  his  grace." 

Pos.  C.  The  end  of  election,  which  with  re- 
gard to  the  elect  themselves,  it  is  eternal  life  ;  I 
say  this  end,  and  the  means  conducive  to  it, 
such  as  the  gift  of  the  Spirit,  faith,  &c.  are  so  in- 
separably connected  together,  that  whoever  is 
possessed  of  these,  shall  surely  obtain  that ;  and 
none  can  obtain  that  who  are  not  first  possessed  of 
these.  Acts  xiii.  48.  "  As  many  as  were  ordain- 
ed to  eternal  life,"  and  none  else,  "  believed." 
Acts  v.  31.  ."  Him  hath  God  exalted — to  give  re- 
pentence  unto  Israel,  and  remission  of  sins  :"  not 
to  all  men,  or  to  those  who  were  not,  in  the  coun- 
sel and  purpose  of  God,  set  apart  for  himself; 
but  to  Israel,  all  his  chosen  people,  who  were 
given  to  him,  were  ransomed  by  him,  and  shall 
be  saved  in  him  with  an  everlasting  salvation. 
Tit.  i.  1.  "  According  to  the  faith  of  God's 
elect ;"  so  that  true  faith  is  a  consequence  of 
election,  is  peculiar  to  the  elect,  and  shall  issue  in 

life  eternal.     Eph.  i.  "  He  hath  chosen  us 

that  we  might  be  holy ;  therefore,  all  who  are 
chosen,  are  made  hoi)-,  and  none  but  they  :  and 
all  who  are  sanctified,  have  a  right  to  believe 
they  were  elected,  and  that  they  shall  assuredly 
be  saved.  Rom.  viii.  30.  "  Whom  he  did  pre- 
destinate, them  he  also  called  ;  whom  he  called, 
them  he  also  justified;  and  whom  he  justified, 
them  he  also  glorified."  Which  shews,  that  ef- 
fectual calling  and  justification  are  indissolubly 
connected  with  election  on  one  hand,  and  eternal 
happiness  on  the  other :   that  they  are  a  proof  of 


137 

the  former,  and  an  earnest  of  the  latter.  John  x. 
26.  "  Ye  believe  not,  because  ye  are  not  of  my 
sheep j"  on  the  contrary,  they  who  believe, 
therefore  believe,  because  they  are  of  his  sheep. 
Faith  then  is  an  evidence  of  election,  or  of  be- 
ing in  the  number  of  Christ's  sheep,  consequent- 
ly, of  salvation  :  since  all  his  sheep  shall  be  sav- 
ed.    John  x.  28. 

Pos.  7.  The  elect  may  through  the  grace  of 
God  attain  to  the  knowledge  and  assurance  of 
their  predestination  to  life  ;  and  they  ought  to 
seek  after  it.  The  Christian  may,  for  instance, 
argue  thus  ;  "  As  many  as  were  ordained  to  eter- 
nal life  believed :"  through  mercy  I  believe, 
therefore  I  am  ordained  to  eternal  life.  "  He 
that  believeth  shall  be  saved  :"  I  believe,  there- 
fore, I  am  in  a  saved  state.  "  Whom  he  did 
predestinate,  he  called,  justified,  and  glorified  :" 
I  have  reason  to  trust  that  he  hath  called  and  jus- 
tified me :  therefore  I  can  assuredly  look  back- 
ward on  my  eternal  predestination,  and  forward 
to  my  certain  glorification.  To  all  which  fre- 
quently accedes  the  immediate  testimony  of  the 
divine  Spirit,  witnessing  with  the  believer's  con- 
science, that  he  is  a  child  of  God,  Rom.  viii.  16. 
Gal.  iv.  6.  1  John  v.  10.  Christ  forbids  his 
little  flock  to  fear,  inasmuch  as  they  might,  on 
good  and  solid  grounds,  rest  satisfied  and  as- 
sured, that  "  it  is  the  Father's  unalterable  good 
pleasure  to  give  them  the  kingdom,"  Luke  xii. 
28.  And  this  was  the  faith  of  the  aposle,  Rom. 
viii.  38,  39.    ; 

Pos.  8.  The  true  believer  ought  not  only  to  be 
thoroughly  established  in  the  point  of  his  own  elec- 
tion, but  should  likewise  believe  the  election  of  all 
his  other  fellow-believers  and  brethren  in  Christ. 
Now,  as  there  are  most  evident  and  indubitable 
marks  of  election  laid  down  in  scripture  ,•  a  child 
12 


238 

of  God,  by  examining  himself,  whether  those 
marks  are  found  on  him,  may  arrive  at  a  sober 
and  well-grounded  certainty  of  his  own  particu- 
lar interest  in  that  unspeakable  privilege  :  and, 
by  th.e  same  rule  whereby  he  judges  of  himself, 
he  may  likewise  (but  with  caution)  judge  of 
others.  If  I  see  the  external  fruits  and  criteria 
of  election  on  this  or  that  man  ;  I  may  reason- 
ably, and  in  a  judgment  of  charity,  conclude 
such  an  one  to  be  an  elect  person.  So  St.  Paul,  be- 
holding the  gracious  fruits  which  appeared  in  the 
believing  Thessalonians,  gathered  from  thence, 
that  they  were  elected  of  God,  1  Thess.  i.  4,  5. 
and  knew  also  the  .election  of  the  Christian  Ephe- 
sians,  Eph.  i.  4,  5.  as  Peter  also  did  that  of  the 
members  of  the  churches  in  Pontus,  Galatia,  &c. 

1  Pet.  i.  2.  It  is  true  indeed,  that  all  conclusions 
of  this  nature  are  not  now  infallible,  but  our  judg- 
ments are  liable  to  mistake  :  and  God  only,  whose 
is  the  book  of  life,  and  who  is  the  searcher  of 
hearts,  can  absolutely  know  them  that  are  his, 

2  Tim.  ii.  19.  yet,  we  may  without  a  presumptu- 
ous intrusion  into  things  not  seen,  arrive  at  a 
moral  certainty  in  this  matter.  And  I  cannot 
see  how  christian  love  can  be  cultivated,  how 
we  can  call  one  another  brethren  in  the  Lord, 
or,  how  believers  can  hold  religious  fellowship 
and  communion  with  each  other,  unless  they  have 
some  solid  and  visible  reason  to  conclude,  that 
they  are  loved  with  the  same  everlasting  love, 
were  redeemed  by  the  same  Saviour,  are  parta- 
kers of  like  grace,  and  shall  reign  in  the  same 
glory. 

But  here  let  me  suggest  one  very  necessary  cau- 
tion ;  viz.  that  though  we  may  at  least  very  pro- 
bably infer  the  election  of  some  persons,  from  the 
marks  and  appearances  of  grace  which  may  be 
discoverable  in  them ;  yet,   we  can  never  judge 


139 

any  man  whatever  to  be  a  reprobate.  That  there 
are  reprobate  persons  is  very  evident  from  scrip- 
ture, (as  we  shall  presently  shew  ;)  but  who  they 
are,  is  known  alone  to  him  who  alone  can  tell 
who  and  what  men  are  not  written  in  the  Lamb's 
book  of  life.  I  grant  that  there  are  some  par- 
ticular persons  mentioned  in  the  divine  word,  of 
whose  reprobation  no  doubt  can  be  made,  such 
as  Esau  and  Judas  :  but  now  the  canon  of  scrip- 
ture is  completed,  we  dare  not,  we  must  not  pro- 
nounce any  man  living,  to  be  non-elect,  be  he  at 
present  ever  so  wicked.  The  vilest  sinner  may, 
for  aught  we  can  tell,  appertain  to  the  election  of 
grace,  and  be  one  day  wrought  upon  by  the  Spi- 
rit of  God.  This  we  know  that  those  who  die  in 
unbelief,  and  are  finally  unsanctified,  cannot  be 
saved  :  because  God  in  his  word  tells  us  so,  and 
has  represented  these  as  marks  of  reprobation  : 
but,  to  say  that  such  and  such  individuals,  whom 
perhaps  we  now  see  dead  in  sins,  shall  never  be 
converted  to  Christ,  would  be  a  most  presumtu- 
ous  assertion,  as  well  as  an  inexcusable  breach  of 
the  charity  which  hopeth  all  things. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

©F  REPROBATION  ;    OR    PREDESTINATION,  AS    IT 
RESPECTS  THE  UNGODLY. 

J  ROM  what  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ter concerning  the  election  of  some,  it  would  una- 
voidably follow,  even  supposing  the  scriptures 
had  been  silent  about  it,  that  there  must  be  a  re- 
jection of  others ;  as  every  choice  does  most 
evidently  and  necessarily  imply  a  refusal  :  for, 
where  there  is  no  leaving  out  there  can  be  no 
choice.  But,  beside  the  testimony  of  reason, 
the  divine  word  is  full  and  express  to  our  pur- 
pose :  it  frequently,  and  in  terms  too  clear  to  be 
misunderstood,  and  too  strong  to  be  evaded  by 
any  who  are  not  proof  against  the  most  cogent 
evidence,  attests  this  tremendous  truth,  that  some 
are  of  old  foreordained  to  condemnation.  I 
shall,  in  the  discussion  of  this  awful  subject,  fol- 
low the  method  hitherto  observed,  and  throw 
what  I  have  to  say  into  several  distinct  positions, 
supported  by  scripture. 

Pos.  1.  God  did  from  all  eternity  decree  to 
leave  some  of  Adam's  fallen  posterity  in  their 
sins,  and  to  exclude  them  from  the  participation 
of  Christ  and  his  benefits. 

For  the  clearing  of  this,  let  it  be  observed, 
that  in  all  ages  the  much  greater  part  of  man- 
kind have  been  destitute  even  of  the  external 
means  of  grace ;  have  not  been  favoured  with 


HI 

the  preaching  of  God's  word,  or  any  revelation 
of  his  will.  Thus,  anciently,  the  Jews,  who 
were  in  number  the  fewest  of  all  people,  were 
nevertheless,  for  a  long  series  of  ages,  the  only 
nation  to  whom  the  Deity  was  pleased  to  make 
any  special  discovery  of  himself:  and  it  is  ob- 
servable, that  our  Lord  himself  principally  con- 
fined the  advantages  of  his  public  ministry  to 
that  people ;  nay,  he  forbad  his  disciples  to  go 
among  any  others,  Mat.  x.  5,  6.  and  did  not 
commission  them  to  preach  the  gospel  indiscri- 
minately to  Jews  and  Gentiles  till  after  his  re- 
surrection, Mark  xvi.  15.  Luke  xxiv.  47.  Hence, 
many  nations  and  communities  never  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  hearing  the  word  preached  ;  and  con- 
sequently were  strangers  to  the  faith  that  cometh 
thereby.  It  is  not  indeed  improbable  but  some 
individuals,  in  these  unenlightened  countries, 
might  belong  to  the  secret  election  of  grace ; 
and  the  habit  of  faith  might  be  wrought  in  these  : 
however,  be  that  as  it  will,  our  argument  is  not 
affected  by  it ;  it  is  evident  that  the  nations  of 
the  world  were  generally  ignorant,  not  only  of 
God  himself,  but  likewise  of  the  way  to  please 
him,  the  true  manner  of  acceptance  with  him, 
and  the  means  of  arriving  at  the  everlasting  en- 
joyment of  him.  Now  if  God  had  been  pleas- 
ed to  have  saved  those  people,  would  he  not 
have  vouchsafed  them  the  ordinary  means  of  sal- 
vation ?  would  he  not  have  given  them  all  things 
necessary  in  order  to  the  end  ?  but  it  is  undenia- 
ble matter  of  fact,  that  he  did  not ;  and  to  verv 
many  nations  of  the  earth,  does  not,  at  this  day- 
If  then,  the  Deity  can,  consistently  with  his  at- 
tributes, deny  to  some  the  means  of  grace,  and 
shut  them  up  in  gross  darkness  and  unbelief; 
why  should  it  be  thought  incompatible  with  his 
immensely  glorious  perfections,  to  exclude  som<? 
12  * 


142 


persons  from  grace  itself,  and  from  that  eternal 
life  which  is  connected  with  it ;  especially,  see- 
ing he  is  equally  the  Lord  and  sovereign  dispo- 
ser of  the  end  to  which  the  means  lead;  as  of 
the  means  which  lead  to  that  end  ?  both  one  and 
the  other  are  his ;  and  he  most  justly  may,  as  he 
most  assuredly  will,  do  what  he  pleases  with  his 
own. 

Besides,  it  being  also  evident,  that  many, 
even  of  them  who  live  in  places  where  the  gos- 
pel is  preached,  as  well  as  of  those  among  whom 
it  never  was  preached,  die  strangers  to  God  and 
holiness,  and  without  experiencing  any  thing  of 
the  gracious  influences  of  his  Spirit :  we  may 
reasonably  and  safely  conclude,  that  one  cause  of 
their  so  doing,  is  because  it  was  not  the  divine 
will  to  communicate  his  grace  unto  them  :  since, 
had  it  been  his  will,  he  would  actually  have 
made  them  partakers  thereof;  and  had  they 
been  partakers  of  it,  they  could  not  have  died 
without  it.  Now,  if  it  was  the  will  of  God  in 
time  to  refuse  them  this  grace  ;  it  must  have 
been  his  will  from  eternity,  since  his  will  is,  as 
himself,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for 
ever. 

The  actions  of  God  being  thus  fruits  of  his 
eternal  purpose,  we  may  safely,  and  without  any 
danger  of  mistake,  argue  from  them  to  that ; 
and  infer,  that  God  therefore  does  such  and  such 
things  because  he  decreed  to  do  them  ;  his  own 
will  being  the  sole  cause  of  all  his  works.  So 
that  from  his  actually  leaving  some  men  in  final 
impenitency  and  unbelief,  we  assuredly  gather, 
that  it  was  his  everlasting  determination  so  to 
do :  and,  consequently,  that  he  reprobated  some 
from  before  the  foundation  of  the  world. 

And,  as  this  inference  is  strictly  rational,  so  is 
it  perfectly    scriptural.     Thus,  the  judge  will  in 


143 

the  last  day,  declare  to  those  on  the  left  hand,  I 
never  knew  you.  Mat.  vii.  23.  i.  e.  "  I  never, 
no,  not  from  eternity,  loved,  approved,  or  acknow- 
ledged you  for  mine  :"  or,  in  other  words,  "  I 
always  hated  you."  Our  Lord,  in  John  xvii, 
divides  the  whole  human  race  into  two  great 
classes:  one  he  calls  the  world;  the  other,  the 
men  who  were  given  him  out  of  the  world.  The 
latter,  it  is  said,  the  Father  loved  even  as  he  lo- 
ved Christ  himself,  verse  23.  but  he  loved 
Christ  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  verse 
24.  i.  e.  from  everlasting  ;  therefore,  he  loved  the 
elect  so  too  :  and  if  he  loved  these  from  eterni- 
ty, it  follows,  by  all  the  rules  of  antithesis,  that 
he  hated  the  others  as  early.  So,  Rom.  ix. 
u  The  children  not  being  yet  born,  neither  having 
done  good  or  evil,  that  the  purpose  of  God,"  &c. 
From  the  example  of  the  twins,  Jacob  and  Esau, 
the  apostle  infers  the  eternal  election  of  some 
men,  and  the  eternal  rejection  of  all  the  rest. 
Pos.  2.  Some  men  were  from  all  eternity,  not 
only  negatively  excepted  from  a  participation  of 
Christ  and  his  salvation  ;  but  positively  ordain- 
ed to  continue  in  their  natural  blindness,  hardness 
of  heart,  &c.  and  that,  by  the  just  judgment  of 
Cod.  See  Exod.  ix.  1  Sam.  ii.  25.  2  Sam.  xvii. 
14.  Is?,  vi.  9,  10,  11.  2Thtss.  ii.  11,  12.  Nor 
can  these  places  of  scripture,  with  many  others 
of  like  import,  be  understood  of  an  involuntary 
permission  on  the  part  of  God  ;  as  if  God  bare- 
ly suffered  it  to  be  so,  quasi  invitus,  as  it  were  by 
constraint,  and  against  his  will ;  for  he  permits 
nothing  which  he  did  not  resolve  and  determine 
to  permit.  His  permission  is  a  positive,  deter- 
minate act  of  his  will ;  as  Austin,  Luther,  and 
Bucer,  justly  observe  :  therefore,  if  it  be  the  will 
of  God,  in  time,  to  permit  such  and  such  men  to 
continue  in  their  natural  state  of  ignorance  and 


144 

corruption  j  the  natural  consequence  of  which  is, 
their  falling  into  such  and  such  sins ;  (observe, 
God  does  not  force  them  into  sin ;  their  actual 
disobedience  being  only  the  consequence  of  their 
not  having  that  grace  which  God  is  not  obliged  to 
grant  them  ;)  I  say,  if  it  be  the  will  of  God  thus 
to  leave  them  in  time,  (and  we  must  deny  de- 
monstration itself,  even  known,  absolute  matter 
of  fact,  if  we  deny  that  some  are  so  left,)  then  it 
must  have  been  the  divine  intention  from  all 
eternity  so  to  leave  them,  since,  as  we  have  al- 
ready had  occasion  to  observe,  no  new  will  can 
possibly  arise  in  the  mind  of  God.  We  see  that 
evil  men  actually  are  suffered  to  go  on  adding 
sin  to  sin  ;  and  if  it  be  not  inconsistent  with  the 
sacred  attributes  actually  to  permit  this,  it  could 
not  possibly  be  inconsistent  with  them  to  decree 
that  permission  before  the  foundations  of  the 
world  were  laid. 

Thus,  God  efficaciously  permitted  (having  so  de- 
creed) the  Jews  to  be,  in  effect,  the  crucifiers  of 
Christ  j  and  Judas  to  betray  him  ;  Acts  iv.  27, 28. 
Mat.  xxvi.  23,  24.  Hence  we  find  St.  Austin  * 
speaking  thus  ;  "Judas  was  chosen,  but  it  was  to 
do  a  most  execrable  deed  :  that  thereby  the  death 
of  Christ,  and  the  adorable  work  of  redemption  by 
him,  might  be  accomplished.  When,  therefore, 
we  hear  our  Lord  say,  "  Have  not  I  chosen  you 
twelve,  and  one  of  you  is  a  devil  r"  we  must  un- 
derstand it  thus,  that  the  eleven  were  chosen  in 
mercy;  but  Judas  in  judgment  :  they  were  cho- 
sen to  partake  of  Christ's  kingdom  ;  he  was  cho- 
sen and  pitched  upon  to  betrav  him,  and  be  the 
means  of  shedding  his  blood." 


De  Corv.  &  Grat.  cap.  7- 


145 


Pos,  3.  The  non-elect  were  predestinated,  not 
©nly  to  continue  in  final  impenitency,  sin,  and  un- 
belief; but  were  likewise  for  such  their  sins, 
righteously  appointed  to  infernal  death  hereafter. 

This  position  is  also  self-evident :  for  it  is  cer- 
tain, that  in  the  day  of  universal  judgment,  all 
the  human  race  will  not  be  admitted  into  glory, 
but  some  of  them  transmitted  to  the  place  of 
torment.  Now,  God  does,  and  will  do,  nothing, 
but  in  consequence  of  his  own  decree,  Psalm 
cxxxv.  6.  Isai.  xlvi.  11.  Eph.  i.  9, 1 1.  therefore, 
the  condemnation  of  the  unrighteous  was  decreed 
of  God  ;  and,  if  decreed  by  him,  decreed  from 
everlasting  :  for  all  his  decrees  are  eternal.  Be- 
sides, if  God  purposed  to  leave  those  persons  un- 
der the  guilt  and  the  power  of  sin,  their  condem- 
nation must  of  itself  necessarily  follow  ;  Since, 
without  justification  and  sanctification  (neither  of 
which  blessings  are  in  the  power  of  man)  none 
can  enter  heaven,  John  xiii.  8.  Heb.  xii.  14. 
Therefore,  if  God  determined  within  himself 
thus  to  leave  some  in  their  sins  (and  it  is  but 
too  evident  that  this  is  really  the  case  ;)  He 
must  also  have  determined  within  himself  to 
punish  them  for  those  sins  (final  guilt  and  final 
punishment  being  correlatives  which  necessarily 
infer  each  other  ;)  but  God  did  determinate  both  to 
leave  and  to  punish  the  non-elect :  therefore 
there  was  a  reprobation  of  some  from  eternity. 
Thus,  Mat.  xxv.  "  Go  ye  cursed  into  everlasting 
fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels ;"  for 
Satan  and  all  his  messengers,  emissaries,  and  imi- 
tators, whether  apostate  spirits,  or  apostate  men. 
Now,  if  penal  fire  was,  in  decree,  from  ever- 
lasting, prepared  for  them ;  they,  by  all  the 
laws  of  argument  in  the  world,  must  have  been, 
in  the  counsel  of  God  prepared,  i.e.  designed, 
for  that  fire  ;  which  is  the    point  I  undertook  to 


146 

prove.  Hence  we  read,  Rom.  ix.  of  vessels  of 
wrath  fitted  to  destruction,  tutTttfirivuiit  as  «t«a«/«», 
put  together,  made  up,  formed,  or  fashioned,  for 
perdition  ;  who  are,  and  can  be  no  other  than  the 
reprobate.  To  multiply  scriptures  on  this  head 
would  be  almost  endless  :  for  a  sample,  consult 
Prov.  xvi.  4.  1  Pet.  ii.  8.  2  Pet.  ii.  12.  Jude 
4.  Rev.  xiii.  8. 

Pos.  4.  As  the  future  faith  and  good  works  of 
the  elect  were  not  the  cause  of  thtir  being  cho- 
sen, so  neither  were  the  future  sins  of  the  repro- 
bate the  cause  of  their  being  passed  by;  but  both 
the  choice  of  the  former,  and  the  decretive  omis- 
sion of  the  latter,  were  owing  merely  and  entire- 
ly to  the  sovereign  will  and  determinating  plea- 
sure of  God. 

We  distinguish  between  pretention,  or  bare 
non-election,  which  is  purely  a  negative  thing; 
and  condemnation,  or  appointment  to  punishment : 
the  will  of  God  was  the  cause  of  the  former, 
the  sins  of  the  non-elect  are  the  reasons  of  the  latter. 
Though  God  determined  to  leave,  and  actually 
does  leave,  whom  he  pleases,  in  the  spiritual 
darkness  and  death  of  nature,  out  of  which  he 
is  under  no  obligation  to  deliver  them ;  yet  he 
does  not  positively  condemn  any  of  these  merely 
because  he  hath  not  chosen  them,  but  because 
they  have  sinned  against  him  :  see  Rom.  i.  21 — 
24.  Rom.  ii.  8,  9.  2  Thess.  ii.  12.  Their  prete- 
ntion, or  non-inscription  in  the  book  of  life,  is 
not  unjust  on  the  part  of  God,  because,  out  of  a 
world  of  rebels,  equally  involved  in  guilt,  God, 
(who  might,  without  any  impeachment  of  his 
justice,  have  passed  by  all,  as  he  did  the  repro- 
bate angels)  was  most  unquestionably  at  liberty, 
if  it  so  pleased  him,  to  extend  the  sceptre  of  his 
clemency  to  some ;  and  to  pitch  upon  whom  he 
would  as  the  objects  of  it.     Nor  was  this  exemp- 


147 

tion  of  some  any  injury  to  the  non-elect ;  whose 
case  would  have  been  just  as  bad  as  it  is,  even 
supposing  the  others  had  not  been  chosen  at  all* 
Again,  the  condemnation  of  the  ungodly  (for  it 
is  under  that  character  alone  that  they  are  the 
subjects  of  punishment,  and  were  ordained  to  it) 
is  not  unjust,  seeing  it  is  for  sin,  and  only  for 
sin.  None  are  or  will  be  punished  but  for  their 
iniquities  ;  and  all  iniquity  is  properly  meritori- 
ous of  punishment ;  where  then  is  the  supposed 
unmercifulness,  tyranny,  or  injustice  of  the  Di- 
vine procedure  ? 

Pos.  5.  God  is  the  creator  of  the  wicked,  but 
not  of  their  wickedness  :  he  is  the  author  of  their 
being,  but  not  the  infuser  of  their  sin. 

It  is  most  certainly  his  will,  for  adorable  and 
unsearchable  reasons,  to  permit  sin ;  but,  with 
all  possible  reverence  be  it  spoken,  it  should  seem 
that  he  cannot,  consistently  with  the  purity  of  his 
nature,  the  glory  of  his  attributes,  and  the  truth  of 
his  declarations,  be  himself  the  author  of  it.  Sin, 
says  the  apostle,  entered  into  the  world  by  one 
man,  meaning  by  Adam  :  consequently,  it  was 
not  introduced  by  the  Deity  himself.  Though, 
without  the  permission  of  his  will,  and  the  con- 
currence of  his  providence,  its  introduction  had 
been  impossible  ;  yet  is  he  not  hereby  the  author 
of  sin   so  introduced.*     Luther  observes,  ( De 


*  It  is  a  known  and  very  just  maxim  of  the  schools,  Effec- 
tus  sequitur  causam  proximam  :  "  An  effect  follows  frcir.,  and 
is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  last  immediate  cause  that  produced 
it."  Thus,  for  instance,  if  I  hold  a  book,  or  a  stone,  in  my 
hand,  my  holding  it  is  the  immediate  cause  of  its  not  falling- ; 
but,  if  I  let  it  go,  my  letting  it  go  is  not  the  immediate  cause  of 
its  falling :  it  is  carried  downward  by  its  own  gravity  ,which  is, 
therefore,  the  causa  proxime  effectus,  the  proper  and  immedi- 
ate cause  of  its  descent.  It  is  true,  if  1  had  kept  my  hold  of 
it,  it  would  not  have  fallen:  yet  still,  the  immediate  direct 


148 

Serv.  Arb.  c.  42.)  "  It  is  a  great  degree  of  faith, 
to  believe,  that  God  is  merciful  and  gracious, 
though  he  saves  so  few,  and  condemns  so  many  ; 
and  that  he  is  strictly  just,  though  in  consequence 
of  his  own  will,  he  made  us  not  exempt  from  lia- 
bleness  to  condemnation. "  And  cap.  148.  Al- 
though God  doth  not  make  sin,  nevertheless  he 
ceases  not  to  create  and  multiply  individuals  in 
the  human  nature,  which,  through  the  withhold- 
ing of  his  Spirit,  is  corrupted  by  sin  :  just  as  a 
skilful  artist  may  form  curious  statues  out  of  bad 
materials.  So,  such  as  their  nature  is,  such  are 
men  themselves ;  God  forms  them  out  of  such  a 
nature." 

Pos.  6.  The  condemnation  of  the  reprobate  is 
necessary  and  inevitable. 

Which  we  prove  thus :  It  is  evident  from 
scripture  that  the  reprobate  shall  be  condemned. 
But  nothing  comes  to  pass  (much  less  can  the 
condemnation  of  a  rational  creature,)  but  in  conse- 
quence of  the  will  and  decree  of  God.  Therefore 
the  non-elect  could  not  be  condemned,  was  it  not 
the  divine  pleasure  and  determination  that  they 
should.  And  if  God  wills  and  determines  their 
condemnation,  that  condemnation  is  necessary 
and  inevitable.  By  their  sins,  they  have  made 
themselves  guilty  of  death  :  and,  as  it  is  not  the 
will  of  God  to  pardon  those  sins,  and  grant  them 
repentance  unto  life ;  the  punishment  of  such 
impenitent  sinners  is  as  unavoidable  as  it  is  just. 
It  is  our  Lord's  own  declaration,   Mat.  vii.  that 


cause  of  its  fall,  is  its  own  weight,  not  my  quitting1  my  hold. 
The  application  of  this  to  the  P*ovidtnce  pf  God,  as  concern- 
ed in  sinful  events,  is  easy.  Without  God  there  could  have 
been  no  creation  ;  without  creation,  no  creatures  ;  without 
creatures,  no  sin.  Yet  is  not  sin  chargeable  on  God  :  for  ef- 
fectus  sequitur  causam  proximam. 


149 

a  corrupt  tree  cannot  bring  forth  good  fruit  :'* 
or,  in  other  words,  that  a  depraved  sinner  cannot 
produce  in  himself  those  gracious  habits,  nor  ex- 
ert those  gracious   acts,  without  which  no  adult 
person  can  be  saved.     Consequently  the  repro- 
bate must,  as  corrupt,  fruitless  trees,  (or  fruitful 
in  evil  only,)  be  "  hewn  down,  and  cast  into  the 
fire,"  Mat.  iii.    This,  therefore,  serves  as  another 
argument  in   proof  of  the    inevitability  of  their 
future  punishment:    which  argument,   in   brief, 
amounts  to  this  ;  They  who  are  not  saved  from 
sin  must   unavoidably  perish  :  but  the  reprobate 
are  not  saved  from  sin ;  (for  they  have  neither  will 
nor  power  to  save  themselves,  and  God,  though  he 
certainly  can,  yet  he  certainly  will  not  save  them  :) 
Therefore,  their  perdition  is  unavoidable.     Nor 
does  it  follow  from  hence,  that  God  forces- the 
reprobate    into   sin,   and    thereby    into    misery, 
against  their   wills  j  but  that  in   consequence  of 
their  natural  depravity  (which  it  is  not  the  divine 
pleasure   to   deliver  them   out  of,  neither  is  he 
bound  to  do  it,  nor  are  they  themselves  so  much 
as  desirous  that  he  would,)   they  are  voluntarily 
biased  and  inclined  to  evil :  nay,  which  is  worse 
still,  they  hug  and   value   their  spiritual  chains, 
and  even  greedily  pursue  the  paths  of  sin,  which 
lead  to  the  chambers  of  death.     Thus  God  does 
not  (as  we  are  slanderously  reported  to  affirm) 
compel  the  wicked  to  sin,  as  the  rider  spurs  for- 
ward an  unwilling  horse.  :  God  only  says,  in  ef- 
fect,  that  tremendous    word,    Let   them  alone, 
Mat.  xv.  14.     He  need  but  slacken  the  reins  of 
providential  restraint,  and  withhold  the  influence 
of  saving  grace ;    and   apostate    man   will,    too 
soon,  and  too  surely,  of  his  own  accord,  fall  by 
his   iniquity :    he  will  presently    be,   spiritually- 
speaking,  a  felo  de  se,  and,  without  any  other  ef- 
ficiency, lay  violent  hands  on  his  soul.     So  that, 
13 


150 

though  the  condemnation  of  the  reprobate  is  un- 
avoidable ;  yet  the  necessity  of  it  is  so  far  from 
making  them  mere  machines,  or  involuntary 
agents,  that  it  does  not  in  the  least  interfere  with 
the  rational  freedom  of  their  wills,  nor  serve  to 
render  them  less  inexcusable. 

Pos.  7.  The  punishment  of  the  non-elect  was 
not  the  ultimate  end  of  their  creation ;  but  the 
glory  of  God. 

it  is  frequently  objected  to  us,  that,  according 
to  our  view  of  predestination,  **  God  makes 
some  persons  on  purpose  to  damn  them  :"  But 
this  we  never  advanced ;  nay,  we  utterly  reject 
it,  as  equally  unworthy  of  God  to  do,  and  of  a 
rational  being  to  suppose.  The  grand,  principal 
end.  proposed  by  the  Deity  to  himself,  in  his 
formation  of  all  things,  and  of  mankind  in  par- 
ticular, was  the  manifestation  and  display  of 
his  own  glorious  attributes.  His  ultimate  scope 
in  the  creation  of  the  elect  is  to  evidence  and 
make  known  by  their  salvation,  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  his  power  and  wisdom,  mercy  and  love  : 
and  the  creation  of  the  non-elect  is  for  the  dis- 
play of  his  justice,  power,  sovereignty,  holiness, 
and  truth.  So  that  nothing  can  be  more  certain, 
than  the  declaration  of  the  text  we  have  frequent- 
ly had  occasion  to  cite,  Prov.  xvi.  "  The  Lord 
hath  made  all  things  for  himself,  even  the  wick- 
ed for  the  day  of  evil."  On  one  hand,  the  ves- 
sels of  wrath  are  fitted  for  destruction,  in  order 
that  God  may  shew  his  wrath  and  make  his  pow- 
er known,  and  manifest  the  greatness  of  his  pa- 
tience and  long  suffering,  Rom.  ix.  22.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  afore  prepared  the  elect  to  salva- 
tion, that  on  them  he  might  demonstrate  the 
riches  of  his  glory  and  mercy,  verse  23.  As, 
therefore,  Cod  himself  is  the  sole  author  and  ef- 
ficient of  all  his  own  actions  :  so  is  he,  likewise, 


151 


the  supreme  end  to  which  they  lead,  and  in  which 
they  terminate. 

Besides,  the  creation  and  perdition  of  the  un- 
godly answer  another  purpose  (though  a  subordi- 
nate one,)  with  regard  to  the  elect  themselves ;  who, 
from  the  rejection  of  those,  learn,  1.  To  admire 
the  riches  of  the  divine  love  toward  themselves, 
which  planned,  and  has  accomplished,  the  work 
of  their  salvation  :  while  others,  by  nature  on  an 
equal  level  with  them,  are  excluded  from  a  par- 
ticipation of  the  same  benefits.  And  such  a  view 
of  the  Lord's  distinguishing  mercy  is,  2.  A  most 
powerful  motive  to  thankfulness,  that,  when  they 
too  might  justly  have  been  condemned  with  the 
world  of  the  non-elect,  they  were  marked  out  as 
heirs  of  the  grace  of  life.  3.  Hereby  they  are 
taught  ardently  to  love  their  heavenly  Father ; 
4.  To  trust  in  him  assuredly  for  a  continued  sup- 
ply of  grace  while  they  are  on  earth,  and  for  the 
accomplishment  of  his  eternal  decree  and  pro- 
mise by  their  glorification  in  heaven ;  and,  5.  To 
live  as  becomes  those  who  have  received  such 
unspeakable  mercies  from  the  hand  of  their  God 
and  Saviour.  So  Bucer  somewhere  observes, 
That  the  punishment  of  the  reprobate,  "  is  use- 
ful to  the  elect  ;  inasmuch  as  it  influences  them 
to  a  greater  fear  and  abhorrence  of  sin,  and  to  a 
firmer  reliance  on  the  goodness  of  God." 

Pos.  8.  Notwithstanding  God  did  from  all 
eternity  irreversibly  choose  out  and  fix  upon 
some  to  be  partakers  of  salvation  by  Christ,  and 
rejected  the  rest)  who  are  therefore  termed  bv 
the  apostle,  <»<  >u>i7rot,  the  refuse,  or  those  that  re- 
mained, and  were  left  out ;)  acting  in  both  ac- 
cording to  the  good  pleasure  of  his  own  sove- 
reign will :  yet  he  did  not  herein  act  an  unjust, 
tyrannical,  or  cruel  part ;  nor  yet  shew  himself 
a  respecter  of  persons. 


152 

1.  He  is  not  unjust  in  reprobating  some  :  nei- 
ther can  he  be  so ;  for  "  the  Lord  is  holy  in  all 
his  ways,  and  righteous  in  all  his  works,"  Psalm 
cxlv.  But  salvation  and  damnation  are  works  of 
his,:  consequently,  neither  of  them  is  unrigh- 
teous or  unholy.  It  is  undoubted  matter  of  fact, 
that  the  Father  draws  some  men  to  Christ,  and 
saves  them  in  him  with  an  everlasting  salvation  ; 
and  that  he  neither  draws  nor  saves  some  others  : 
and,  if  it  be  not  unjust  in  God  actually  to  for- 
bear saving  these  persons  after  they  are  born,  it 
could  not  be  unjust  in  him  to  determine  as  much, 
before  they  were  born.  What  is  not  unjust  for 
God  to  do  in  time,  could  not,  by  parity  of  ar- 
gument, be  unjust  in  him  to  resolve  upon  and 
decree  from  eternity.  And,  surely,  if  the  apos- 
tle's illustration  be  allowed  to  have  any  proprie- 
ty, or  to  carry  any  authority,  it  can  no  more  be 
unjust  in  God  to  set  apart  some  for  communion 
with  himself  in  this  life  and  the  next,  and  to 
set  aside  others,  according  to  his  own  free  plea- 
sure ;  than  for  a  potter,  to  make  out  of  the  same 
mass  of  clay,  some  vessels  for  honourable,  and 
others  for  inferior  uses.  The  Deity,  being  abso- 
lute Lord  of  all  his  creatures,  is  accountable  to 
none  for  his  doings ;  and  cannot  be  chargeable 
with  injustice  for  disposing  of  his  own  as  he 
will. 

Nor,  2.  Is  the  decree  of  reprobation  a  tyran- 
nical one.  It  is,  indeed,  strictly  sovereign  j  but 
lawful  sovereignty  and  lawless  tyranny  are  as  re- 
ally distinct  and  different,  as  any  two  opposites 
can  be.  He  is  a  tyrant,  in  the  common  accepta- 
tion of  that  word,  who,  1.  Either  usurps  the 
sovereign  authority,  and  arrogates  to  himself  a 
dominion  to  which  he  has  no  right :  or,  2.  Who, 
being  originally  a  lawful  prince,  abuses  his  pow- 
er, and  governs  contrary  to  law.     But  who  dares 


153 

to  iay  either  of  these  accusations  to  the  divine 
charge  ?  God,  as  Creator,  has  a  most  unquestion- 
able and  unlimited  right  over  the  souls  and  bo- 
dies of  men  ;  unless  it  can  be  supposed,  contra- 
ry to  all  scripture  and  common  sense,  that,  in 
making  of  man,  he  made  a  set  of  beings  superi- 
or to  himself,  and  exempt  from  his  jurisdiction. 
Taking  it  for  granted,  therefore,  God  has  an  ab- 
solute right  of  sovereignty  over  his  creatures  ; 
if  he  should  be  pleased  (as  the  scriptures  repeat- 
edly assure  us  that  he  is)  to  manifest  and  display 
that  right,  by  graciously  saving  some,  and  justly 
punishing  others  for  their  sins — Who  are  we 
that  we  should  reply  against  God  ? 

Neither  does  the  ever  blessed  Deity  fall  under 
the  second  notion  of  a  tyrant ;  namely,  as  one 
who  abuses  his  power  by  acting  contrary  to  law  : 
for,  by  what  exterior  law  is  he  bound,  who  is 
the  supreme  lawgiver  of  the  universe  ?  The  laws 
promulgated  by  him  are  designed  for  the  rule  of 
our  conduct,  not  of  his.  Should  it  be  objected, 
that,  "  His  own  attributes  of  goodness  and  jus- 
tice, holiness  and  truth,  are  a  law  to  himself ;" 
I  answer,  that,  admitting  this  to  be  the  case, 
there  is  nothing  in  the  decree  of  reprobation  as 
represented  in  scripture,  and  by  us  from  thence, 
which  clashes  with  any  of  these  perfections. 
With  regard  to  the  divine  goodness,  though  the 
non- elect  are  not  objects  of  it  in  the  sense  the 
elect  are  ;  yet  even  they  are  not  wholly  excluded 
from  a  participation  of  it.  They  enjoy  the  good 
things  of  providence,  in  common  with  God's 
children,  and,  very  often,  in  a  much  higher  de- 
gree. Besides,  goodness,  considered  as  it  is  in  God, 
would  have  been  just  the  same  infinite  and  glori- 
ous attribute,  supposing  no  rational  beings  had 
been  created  at  all,  or  saved  when  created.  To 
which  may  be  added,  that  the  goodness  of  the 
13  * 


154 

Deity  does  not  cease  to  be  infinite  in  itself,  only 
because  it  is  more  extended  to  some  objects  than 
it  is  to  others  :  The  infinity  of  this  perfection,  as 
residing  in  God  and  coinciding  with  his  essence, 
is  sufficiently  secured,  without  supposing  it  to 
reach  indiscriminately  to  all  the  creatures  he 
has  made.  For,  was  this  way  of  reasoning  to 
be  admitted,  it  would  lead  us  too  far,  and  prove 
too  much  :  since,  if  the  infinity  of  his  goodness 
is  to  be  estimated  by  the  number  of  objects  up- 
on which  it  terminates,  there  must  be  an  abso- 
lute proper  infinity  of  reasonable  beings  to  ter- 
minate that  goodness  upon :  consequently,  it 
would  follow  from  such  premises,  either  that 
the  creation  is  as  truly  infinite  as  the  Creator ; 
or,  if  otherwise,  that  the  Creator's  goodness  could 
not  be  infinite,  because  it  has  not  an  infinity  of 
objects  to  make  happy.*     Lastly,    if  it  was  not 


*  The  late  most  learned  and  judicious  Mr.  Chartwck  has,, 
in  my  judgment  at  least,  proved  most  clearly  and  satisfacto- 
rily, that  the  exclusion  of  some  individual  persons  from  a 
participation  of  saving  grace  is  perfectly  consistent  with 
God's  unlimited  goodness.  He  observes,  that  "  The  good- 
ness of  the  Deity  is  infinite,  and  circumscribed  by  no  limit3. 
The  exercise  of  his  goodness  ma)'  be  limited  by  himself; 
but  his  goodness,  the  principle,  cannot :  for,  since  his  essence 
is  infinite,  and  his  goodness  is  not  distinguished  #om  his  es- 
sence ;  it  is  infinite  also-  God  is  necessarily  good  in  his  na- 
ture ;  but  free  in  his  communications  of  it  He  is  necessa- 
rily Rood,  effective,  in  regard  of  his  nature ;  but  freely  good, 
effective,  in  regard  of  the  effluxes  of  it  to  this  or  that  parti- 
cular subject  he  pitcheth  upon.  He  is  not  necessarily  com- 
municative of  his  goodness,  as  the  sun  of  its  light,  or  a  tree 
of  its  cooling  shade,  which  chooses  not  its  objects,  but  en- 
lightens all  indifferently,  without  variation  or  distinction ; 
this  were  to  make  God  of  no  more  understanding  than  the 
sun,  which  shines,  not  where  it  pleases,  but  where  it  must. 
He  is  an  understanding  agent,  and  hath  a  sovereign  right  to 
choose  his  own  subjects.  It  would  not  be  a  supreme,  if  it 
were  not  a  voluntary  goodness.  It  is  agreeable  to  the  nature 
of  the  Highest  Good  to  be  absolutely  free  ;  and  to  dispense 


155 

incompatible  with  Cod's  infinite  goodness,  to  pass 
by  the  whole  body  of  fallen  angels,  and  leave 
them  under  less  guilt  of  their  apostacy ;  much 
less  can  it  clash  with  that  attribute,  to  pass  by 
some  of  fallen  mankind,  and  resolve  to  leave 
them  in  their  sins,  and  punish  them  for  them. 
Nor  is  it  inconsistent  with  the  divine  justice,  to 
withhold  saving  grace  from  some  ;  seeing  the 
grace  of  God  is  not  what  he  owes  to  any.  It  is 
a  free  gift  to  those  that  have  it ;  and  is  not  due 
to  those  that  are  without  it :  consequently,  there 
can  be  no  injustice  in  not  giving  what  God  is 
not  bound  to  bestow. 

There  is  no  end  of  caviling  at  the  divine  dis- 
pensations, if  men  are  disposed  to  it.  We  might, 
with  equality  of  reason,    when  our  hand  is  inf 


Lis  goodness  in  what  methods  and  measures  he  pleases,  ac- 
cording1 to  the  free  determinations  of  his  own  will,  guided 
by  the  wisdom  of  his  mind,  and  regulated  by  the  holiness  of 
his  nature.  He  will  be  good  to  whom  he  will  be  good. 
When  he  doth  act  he  cannot  but  act  well :  So  far  it  is  neces- 
sary :  yet  he  may  act  this  good  or  that  good,  to  this  or  that 
degree  ;  so  it  is  free ;  as  it  is  the  perfection  of  his  nature,  it 
is  necessary  :  as  it  is  the  communication  of  his  bounty,  it  is 
voluntary.  The  eye  cannot  but  see,  if  it  be  open  ;  yet  it 
may  glance  on  this  or  that  colour,  fix  upon  this  or  that  ob- 
ject, as  it  is  conducted  by  the  will.  What  necessity  could 
there  be  on  God  to  resolve  to  communicate  his  goodness 
[at  all  ?]  it  could  not  be  to  make  himself  better  by  it ;  for 
he  had  [before3  a  goodness  incapable  of  any  addition.  AVhat 
obligation  could  there  be  from  the  creature?  Whatever 
sparks  of  goodness  any  creature  hath,  are  the  free  effusions 
of  God's  bounty,  the  offspring  of  his  own  inclination  to  do 
well,  the  simple  favour  of  the  donor.  God  is  as  unconstrain- 
ed in  his  liberty,  in  all  his  communications,  as  [he  is]}  infinite 
in  his  goodness,  the  fountain  of  them."  CharnocFs  Works' 
vol.  1.  p.  583,  &c.  With  whom  agrees  the  excellent  Dr. 
Bates  (sirnamed  forhis  eloquence,  the  silver-tongued  ;)  and 
who,  if  he  had  a  silver-tongue,  had  likewise  a  golden  pen  : 
"  God,"  says  he  "is  a  wise  and  free  agent ;  and  as  he  is  infi- 
nite in  goodness,  so  the  exercise  of  it  is  voluntary,  and  only 
so  far  as  he  pleases."    Harm-  of  JDiv.  Attrib,  chap.  3. 


156 

presume  to  charge  the  Deity  with  partiality,  for 
not  making  all  his  creatures  angels,  because  it 
was  in  his  power  to  do  so,  as  charge  him  with 
injustice  for  not  electing  all  mankind.  Besides, 
how  can  it  possibly  be  subversive  of  his  justice, 
to' condemn,  and  resolve  to  condemn,  the  non- 
elect  for  their  sins  ;  when  those  very  sins  were 
not  atoned  for  by  Christ,  as  the  sins  of  the  elect 
were  ?  His  justice  in  this  case  is  so  far  from 
hindering  the  condemnation  of  the  reprobate ; 
that  it  renders  it  necessary  and  indispensable. 
Again,  is  the  decree  of  sovereign  pretention,  and 
of  just  condemnation  for  sin,  repugnant  to  the 
divine  holiness  ?  not  in  the  least :  so  far  from  it, 
that  it  does  not  appear  how  the  Deity  could  be 
holy,  if  he  did  not  hate  sin,  and  punish  it.  Nei- 
ther is  it  contrary  to  his  truth  and  veracity.  Quite 
the  reverse.  For,  would  not  the  divine  veracity 
fall  to  the  ground,  if  the  finally  wicked  were  not 
condemned  ? 

3.  God  in  the  reprobation  of  some  does  not 
act  a  cruel  part.  Whoever  accused  a  chief  ma- 
gistrate of  cruelty,  for  not  sparing  a  company  of 
attrocious  malefactors,  and  for  lettingthe  sentence 
of  the  law  take  place  upon  them  by  their  execu- 
tion ?  If,  indeed,  the  magistrate  please  to  pity 
some  of  them,  and  remit  their  penalty,  we  ap- 
plaud his  clemency ;  but  the  punishment  of  the 
rest  is  no  impeachment  of  his  mercy.  Now, 
with  regard  to  God,  his  mercy  is  free  and  volun- 
tary. He  may  extend  it  to,  and  withhold  it  from 
whom  he  pleases,  Rom.  ix.  15,  18.  and  it  is  sad 
indeed,  if  we  will  not  allow  the  Sovereign,  the 
all-wise  Governor  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  same 
privilege  and  liberty  we  allow  to  a  supreme  ma- 
gistrate below. 

Nor,  4.  Is  God,  in  choosing  some  and  rejecting 
others,   a  respecter  of  persons.     He  only  comes 


157 

under  that  title,  who,    on  account  of  parentage, 
country,  dignity,  wealth,  or  for  any  other*  exter- 


*  tf^oo-utcoX^ix,  Persons  Acceptio,  quummag  is  huic  fave- 
mus,  quam  illi,  ob  circumstantiam  aliquam,  ceu  quahtatem, 
externam,  ei  adhxrentem  ;  puta  genus,  dignitatem,  opes, 
patriam,  &c.  Scapula,  in  voc. 

So  that  elegant,  accurate,  and  learned  Dutch  divine,  Lau- 
rentius  :  Haec  vero  £i.  e.  7r^ocrai7roX7i4'tetl  est»  quando  perso- 
na persons  prxfertur  ex  causa  indebita :  puta,  si  judex 
absolvat  reum,  vel  quia  dives  est,  vel  quia  potens,  vel  quia 
magistrates  est,  vel  quia  amicus  &  prepinquus  est,  &c.  "  That 
is  respect  of  persons,  when  one  man  is  preferred  to  another 
on  some  sinister  and  undue  account:  as  when  a  judge  acquits 
a  criminal,  merely  because  he  is  rich,  or  powerful,  or  is  his 
friend,  or  relation,  &c."     Comment  in  Epist.  Jacob,  p.  92. 

Now,  in  the  matter  of  election  and  pretention,  God  is  influ- 
enced by  no  such  motives  :  nor,  indeed,  by  any  exterior  in- 
ducement, or  any  motive,  extra  se,  out  of  himself.  He  does 
not,  for  instance,  condemn  any  persons  on  account  of  their 
poverty :  but  on  the  reverse,  hath  chosen  many  who  are  poor 
in  this  world,  Jam.  ii.  5.  Nor  does  he  condemn  any  for  be- 
ing rich ;  for  some  even  of  the  mighty  and  noble  are  called 
by  his  grace.  1  Cor.  i.  26.  He  does  not  respect  any  man's 
parentage,  or  country  ;  for  the  elect  will  be  "  gathered  to- 
gether from  the  four  winds,  from  under  one  end  of  heaven  to 
the  other,"  Mat.  xxiv.  31.  and  he  hath  redeemed  to  himself  a 
select  number,  "  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  peo- 
ple, and  nation,"  Rev.  v.  9.  and  vii  9.  So  far  is  God  from 
being  in  any  sense  a  respecter  of  persons,  that,  in  Christ  Je- 
sus, there  is  "  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  bond  nor  free,  male 
nor  female,"  Gal.  Ill-  28.  He  does  not  receive  one,  nor  re- 
ject another,  merely  for  coming  or  not  coming  under  any  of 
these  characters.  His  own  sovereign  will,  and  not  their  ex- 
ternal or  internal  circumstances,  was  the  sole  rule,  by  which 
he  proceeded  in  appointing  some  to  salvation,  and  decreeing 
to  leave  others  in  their  sins  :  so  that  God  is  not  herein  a 
respecter  of  their  persons,  but  a  respecter  of  himself,  and 
his  own  glory. 

And  as  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  because  he  chooses 
some  as  objects  of  his  favour,  and  omits  others  ;  all  being  on 
a  perfect  equality ;  so  neither  does  it  follow,  that  he  is  such, 
from  his  actually  conferring  spiritual  and  eternal  blessings  on 
the  former,  and  denying  them  to  the  latter  :  seeing  these 
blessings  are  absolutely  his  own,  and  which  he  may,  there- 
fore without  injustice  give  or  not  give  at  his  pleasure.     Dr. 


158 

nal  consideration,  shews  more  favour  to  one  per- 
son than  to  another.  But  that  is  not  the  case  with 
God.  He  considers  all  men  as  sinners  by  nature  ; 
and  has  compassion  not  on  persons  of  this  or  that 
sect,  country,  sex,  age,  or  station  in  life,  because 
they  are  so  circumstanced,  but  on  whom,  and  be- 
cause he  will  have  compassion.  Pertinent  to  the 
present  purpose   is  that  passage  of  St.  Austin  :* 


Whitby  himself,  though  so  strenuous  an  adversary  to  every 
thing  that  looks  like  predestination,  yet  very  justly  observes 
(and  such  a  concession,  from  such  a  pen,  merits  the  reader's 
attention,)  Locum  non  habet  [scil.  7r^oTai7roX>f^ix]  in  bonis 
mere  liberis  &  gratuitis  ;  neque  in  iis,  in  quibus,  unum  alteri. 
prseferre,  nostri  arbitrii  aut  privilegii  est.  Ethic  Compend. 
1.  2.  c.  5.  sect.  9.  i.  e.  u  The  bestowing"  [and  consequently, 
the  withholding]  "  of  such  benefits,  as  are  merely  gratui- 
tous and  undeserved,  does  not  argue  respect  of  persons  ;  nei- 
ther is  it  respect  of  persons  to  prefer  one  before  another, 
when  we  have  a  right,  and  it  is  our  pleasure  so  to 
do."  I  shall  only  add  the  testimony  of  Thomas  Aquinas  ,- 
a  man  of  some  genius,  and  much  application ;  who,  though 
in  very  many  things,  a  laborious  trifler,  was  yet,  on  some 
subjects,  a  clear  reasoner,  and  judicious  writer.  His  words 
are,  "  Duplex  est  datio  ;  una  quidem  pertinens  ad  justitiam ; 
qua,  scilicet,  aliquis  dat  alicui  quod  ei  debetur;  & 
circa  tales  dationes  attenditur  personarum  acceptio.  Ali  est 
datio  ad  liberalitatem  pertinens  ;  qua,  scilicet,  gratis  datur 
alicui  quod  ei  non  debetur.  Et  talis  est  Collatio  munerum 
gratiae,  per  quae  peccatores  assumuntur  a  Deo.  Et,  in  hac 
donatione,  non  habet  locum  personarum  acceftio  ;  qui  quili- 
bet,  absque  injustitia,  potest  de  suo  dare  quantum  vult.  8c 
cui  vult:  secundum  illud,  Mat.  xx.  Annon  licet  mini,  quod 
volo,  facere  ?  tolle  quod  tuum  est,  &  vade."  i.  e.  "  There  is 
a  twofold  rendering  or  giving  ;  the  one  a  matter  of  justice, 
whereby  that  is  paid  to  a  man  which  was  due  to  him.  Here 
it  is  possible  for  us  to  act  partially,  and  with  respect  of  per- 
sons :"  [Thus,  for  example's  sake,  if  I  owe  money  to  two  men, 
one  of  whom  is  rich,  the  other  poor  ;  and  I  pay  the  rich  man, 
because  he  has  it  in  his  power  to  sue  me,  but  defraud  the  other, 
because  of  his  inability  to  do  himself  justice  ;  I  should  be  a 
respecter  of  persons  But,  as  Aquinas  goes  on]  "  There  is 
a  second  kind  of  rendering  or  giving  ;   which  is  a  branch  of 

*  Tom.  2-Epist  105.  ad  Sixtum  Presb 


159 

"  Forasmuch  as  some  people  imagine,  that  they 
must  look  on  God  as  a  respecter  of  persons,  if 
they  believe,  that,  without  any  respect  had  to  the 
previous  merits  of  men,  he  hath  mercy  on  whom 
he  will,  and  calls  whom  it  is  his  pleasure  to  call, 
and  makes  good  whom  he  pleases.  The  scrupu- 
lousness of  such  people  arises  from  their  not  duly 
attending  to  this  one  thing,  namely,  that  damna- 
tion is  rendered  to  the  wicked  as  a  matter  of 
debt,  justice,  and  desert ;  whereas,  the  grace 
given  to  those  who  are  delivered,  is  free  and  un- 
merited :  so  that  the  condemned  sinner  cannot  al- 
lege that  he  is  unworthy  of  his  punishment ; 
nor  the  saint  vaunt  or  boast,  as  if  he  was  worthy 
of  his  reward.  Thus,  in  the  whole  course  of  this 
procedure,  there  is  no  respect  of  persons.  They 
who  are  condemned,  and  they  who  are  set  at  li- 
berty, constituted  originally  one  and  the  same 
lump,  equally  infected  with  sin,  and  liable  to 
vengeance.  Hence,  the  justified  may  learn  from 
the  condemnation  of  the  rest,  what  would  have 
been  their  own  punishment,  had  not  God's  free 
grace  stepped  in  to  their  rescue." 

Before  I  conclude  this  head,  I  will  obviate  a 
fallacious  objection,  very  common  in  the  mouths 
of  our  opponents  :  "  How,"    say  they,    "  is  the 


mere  bounty  and  liberality,  by  which  that  is  freely  bestowed 
on  any  man  which  was  not  due  to  him.  Such  are  the  gifts  of 
grace,  whereby  sinners  are  received  of  God.  In  the  bestow- 
ment  of  grace,  respect  of  persons  is  absolutely  out  of  the 
question  ;  because  every  one  may  and  can,  without  the  least 
shadow  of  inj  tistice,  give  as  much  of  his  own  as  he  will,  and 
to  whom  he  will :  according  to  that  passage  in  Mat.  xx.  "  Is 
it  not  lawful  for  me  to  do  what  I  will  [with  my  own  ?3  take 
up  that  which  is  thine,  and  go  thy  way."  Aquin.  Summ. 
Theol.  2— 2dx  Qu.  63  A.  1. 

On  the  whole,  it  is  evident,  that  respect  of  persons  can 
only  have  place  in  matters  of  justice,  and  is  but  another  name 
for  perversion  of  justice  :  consequent  ly,  it  has  nothing  to  do 
with  matters  of  mere  goouness  and  bounty,  as  all  the  bless- 
ings of  grace  and  salvation  are. 


160 

doctrine  of  reprobation  reconcileable  with  the 
doctrine  of  a  future  judgment  ?"  To  which  I  an- 
swer, that  there  need  no  pains  to  reconcile  these 
two,  since  they  are  so  far  from  interfering  with 
each  other,  that  one  follows  from  the  other,  and 
the  former  renders  the  latter  absolutely  necessary. 
Before  the  judgment  of  the  great  day,  Christ 
does  not  so  much  act  as  the  judge  of  his  crea- 
tures, as  their  absolute  Lord  and  Sovereign. 
From  the  first  creation  to  the  final  consumma- 
tion of  all  things  ;  he  does,  in  consequence  of  his 
own  eternal  and  immutable  purpose  (as  a  divine 
person,)  graciously  work  in  and  on  his  own  elect, 
and  permissively  harden  the  reprobate.  But, 
when  all  the  transactions  of  providence  and  grace 
are  wound  up  in  the  last  day,  he  will  then  pro- 
perly sit  as  Judge  ;  and  openly  publish,  and  so- 
lemnly ratify,  if  I  may  so  say,  his  everlasting  de- 
crees, by  receiving  the  elect,  body  and  soul,  into 
glory,  and  by  passing  sentence  on  the  non-elect 
(not  for  their  having  done  what  they  could  not 
help,  but)  for  their  wilful  ignorance  of  divine 
things,  and  their  obstinate  unbelief;  for  their 
omission  of  moral  duty,  and  for  their  repeated 
iniquities  and  transgressions. 

Pos.  9.  Notwithstanding  God's  predestination 
is  most  certain  and  unalterable,  so  that  no  elect 
person  can  perish,  nor  any  reprobate  be  saved  ; 
yet  it  does  not  follow  from  thence,  that  all  pre- 
cepts, reproofs,  and  exhortations,  on  the  part  of 
God,  or  prayers  on  the  part  of  man,  are  useless, 
vain,  and  insignificant. 

1.  These  are  not  useless  with  regard  to  the 
elect,  for  they  are  necessary  means  of  bringing 
them  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  at  first :  af- 
terwards, of  stirring  up  their  pure  minds  by  way 
of  remembrance,  and  of  edifying  and  establish- 
ing them  in  faith,  love,  and  holiness.  Hence 
that  of  St.  Austin :  "  The  commandment  wil> 


161 

tsll  thee,  O  man,  what  thou  oughtest  to  have  ;  re- 
proof will  shew  thee  wherein  thou  art  wanting  ; 
and  praying  will  teach  thee  from  whom  thou  must 
receive  the  supplies  which  thou  wantest."  Nor, 
2.  Are  these  vain  with  regard  to  the  reprobate  : 
for,  precept,  reproof,  and  exhortation  may,  if  duly 
attended  to,  be  a  means  of  making  them  careful 
to  adjust  their  moral,  external  conduct,  accord- 
ing to  the  rules  of  decency,  justice,  and  regular- 
ity ;  and  thereby  prevent  much  inconvenience  to 
themselves  and  injury  to  society.  And,  as  for 
prayer,  it  is  the  duty  of  all,  without  exception. 
Every  created  being  (whether  elect  or  reprobate, 
matters  not  as  to  this  point)  is  as  such  de- 
pendent on  the  Creator  for  all  things  :  and  if  de- 
pendent, ought  to  have  recourse  to  him,  both  in 
a  way  of  supplication  and  thanksgiving. 

But,  to  come  closer  still.  That  absolute  pre- 
destination does  not  set  aside,  nor  render  super- 
fluous, the  use  of  preaching,  exhortation,  &c.  we 
prove  from  the  examples  of  Christ  himself  and 
his  apostles,  who  all  taught  and  insisted  upon  the 
article  of  predestination  ;  and  yet  took  every  op- 
portunity of  preaching  it  to  sinners,  and  enforced 
their  ministry  with  proper  rebukes,  invitations,  and 
exhortations,  as  occasion  required.  Though  they 
shewed  unanswerably,  that  salvation  is  the  free 
gift  of  God,  and  lies  entirely  at  his  sovereign 
disposal ',  that  men  can  of  themselves  do  nothing 
spiritually  good  :  and  that  it  is  God,  who  of  his 
own  pleasure,  works  in  them  both  to  will  and  to 
do  ;  yet,  they  did  not  neglect  to  address  their  au- 
ditors, as  beings  possessed  of  reason  and  con- 
science, nor  omitted  to  remind  them  of  their  du- 
ties as  such  ;  but  shewed  them  their  sin  and  dan- 
ger by  nature,  and  laid  before  them  the  appointed 
way  and  method  of  salvation,  as  exhibited  in  the 
gospel.  Our  Saviour  himself,  expressly,  and  in 
14 


162 

terminis,  assures  us  that  no  man  can  come  to 
him  except  the  Father  draw  him  :  and  yet  he 
«ays,  "  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labour,"  &c. 
St.  Peter,  in  the  2d  of  Acts,  told  the  Jews,  that 
they  had  fulfilled  the  determinate  counsel  and 
foreknowledge  of  God,  in  putting  the  Messiah  to 
death  ;  and  yet  sharply  rebukes  them  for  it.  St. 
Paul  declares,  "  It  is  not  of  him  that  willeth,  nor 
of  him  that  runneth  ;"  and  yet  exhorts  the  Corin- 
thians, uso  to  run  as  to  obtain  the  prize."  He  as- 
sures us,  Rom.  viii.  that  "  we  know  not  what  we 
pray  for  as  we  ought ;"  and  yet,  1  Thess.  v.  di- 
rects us  to  "  pray  without  ceasing."  He  avers, 
1  Tim.  ii.  that  the  "  foundation,  or  decree  of  the 
Lord  standeth  sure  ;"  and  yet  cautions  him,  who 
"  thinks  he  stands,  to  take  heed  lest  he  fall."  St. 
James,  in  like  manner  says,  that  u  Every  good 
and  perfect  gift  cometh  down  from  above  j"  and 
yet  exhorts  those  who  want  wisdom,  to  ask  it  of 
God.  So,  then,  all  these  being  means  whereby 
the  elect  are  frequently  enlightened  into  the 
knowledge  of  Christ,  and  by  which  they  are,  af- 
ter they  have  believed  through  grace,  built  up  in 
him ;  and  are  means  of  their  perseverance  to 
the  end  ;  these  are  so  far  from  being  vain  and  in- 
significant, that  they  are  highly  useful  and  neces- 
sary, and  answer  many  valuable  and  important 
ends,  without  in  the  least  shaking  the  doctrine  of 
predestination  in  particular,  or  the  analogy  of 
faith  in  general.  Thus  St.  Austin,*  "  We  must 
preach,  we  must  reprove,  we  must  pray  ;  be- 
cause they  to  whom  grace  is  given  will  hear  and 
act  accordingly ;  though  they  to  whom  grace  is 
not  given  will  do  neither." 


»  »e  Bon.  Persev.  cap;  14. 


m 


CHAPTER    V. 


3HEWIKG  THAT  THE  SCRIPTURE  DOCTRINE 
OF  PREDESTINATION  SHOULD  BE  OPENLY 
PREACHED  AND  INSISTED  ON  ;  AND  FOR 
WHAT  REASONS. 

XJPON  the  whole,  it  is  evident  that  the  doctrine 
of  God's  eternal  and  unchangeable  predestina- 
tion should  neither  be  wholly  suppressed  and  laid 
aside,  nor  yet  be  confined  to  the  disquisition  of 
the  learned  and  speculative  only ;  but  likewise 
should  be  publicly  taught  from  the  pulpit  and 
the  press,  that  even  the  meanest  of  the  people 
may  not  be  ignorant  of  a  truth  which  reflects 
such  glory  on  God,  and  is  the  very  foundation  of 
happiness  to  man.  Let  it,  however,  be  preached 
with  judgment  and  discretion  :  i.  e.  delivered  by 
the  preacher  as  it  is  delivered  in  scripture  ;  and 
no  otherwise.  By  which  means  it  can  neither  be 
abused  to  licentiousness,  nor  misapprehended  to 
despair  ;  but  will  eminently  conduce  to  the 
knowledge,  establishment,  improvement  and  com- 
fort of  them  that  hear.  That  predestination 
ought  to  be  preached  I  thus  prove  : 

1.  The  gospel  is  to  be  preached,  and  that  not 
partially,  and  by  piecemeal,  but  the  whole  of  it. 
The  commission  runs,  u  Go  forth  and  preach 
the  gospel ;  the  gospel  itself,  even  all  the  gos- 
pel, without  exception  or  limitation,  for  so  far  as 
the  gospel  is  maimed,  or  any  branch  of  the  evan- 
gelical system  is-  suppressed  and  passed  over  in 


164 

silence,  so  far  the  gospel  is  not  preached.  Re- 
sides, there  is  scarce  any  other  distinguishing 
doctrine  of  the  gospel  can  be  preached  in  its  pu- 
rity and  consistency,  without  this  of  predestina- 
tion. Election  is  the  golden  thread  that  runs 
through  the  whole  christian  system  j  it  is  the 
leaven,  that  pervades  the  whole  lump.  Cicero 
says  of  the  various  parts  of  human  learning, 
"  Omnes  artes,  quse  ad  humanitatem  pertinent, 
habent  quodam  commune  vinculum,  and  quasi 
cognatione  quadam  inter  se  continentur :  i.  e. 
The  whole  circle  of  arts  have  a  kind  of  mutual 
bond  and  connexion  ;  and,  by  a  sort  of  recipro- 
cal relationship,  are  held  together,  and  interwo- 
ven with  each  other."  Much  the  same  may  be 
staid  of  this  important  doctrine  ;  it  is  the  bond 
which  connects  and  keeps  together  the  whole 
christian  system  ;  which  without  this,  is  like  a 
system  of  sand,  ever  ready  to  fall  to  pieces.  It 
is  the  cement  which  holds  the  fabric  together ; 
nay,  it  is  the  very  soul  that  animates  the  whole 
frame.  It  is  so  blended  and  interwoven  with  the 
entire  scheme  of  gospel  doctrine,  that  when  the 
former  is  excluded,  the  latter  bleeds  to  death. 
An  ambassador  is  to  deliver  the  whole  message 
with  which  he  is  charged.  He  is  to  omit  no 
part  of  it,  but  must  declare  the  mind  of  the  sove- 
reign he  represents,  fully  and  without  reserve. 
He  is  to  say  neither  more  nor  less  than  the  in- 
structions of  his  court  require.  Else,  he  comes 
under  displeasure,  perhaps  loses  his  head.  Let 
the  ministers  of  Christ  weigh  this  well. 

Nor  is  the  gospel  to  be  preached  only,  but 
preached  to  every  creature ;  that  is,  to  rea- 
sonable beings  promiscuously  and  at  large  ;  to  all 
who  frequent  the  christian  ministry,  of  every 
state  and  condition  in  life  ;  whether  high  or  low, 
young  or  old,  learned  or  illiterate.     All  who  at- 


165 

tend  on  the  ministrations  of  Christ's  ambassa- 
dors have  a  right  to  hear  the  gospel  fully,  clearly, 
and  without  mincing.  Preach  it,  says  Christ, 
Mark  xvi.  15.  xsj£w£*7*,  publish  it  abroad,  be  its 
criers  and  heralds  ;  proclaim  it  aloud,  tell  it  out, 
keep  back  no  part  of  it,  spare  not,  lift  up  your 
voices  like  trumpets.  Now,  a  very  considerable 
branch  of  this  gospel  is,  The  doctrine  of  God's 
eternal,  free,  absolute,  and  irreversible  election  of 
some  persons  in  Christ  to  everlasting  life.  The 
saints  were  singled  out,  in  God's  eternal  purpose 
and  choice,  ut  erederent,  to  be  endued  with  faith, 
and  thereby  fitted  for  their  destined  salvation. 
By  their  interest  in  the  gratuitous,  unalienable 
love  of  the  blessed  Trinity,  they  come  to  be,  sub- 
jectively, saints  and  believers ;  so  that  their 
whole  salvation,  from  the  first  plan  of  it  in  the 
divine  mind,  to  the  consummation  of  it  in  glory, 
is  at  once  a  matter  of  mere  grace,  and  of  abso- 
lute certainty.  While  they  who  die  without  faith 
and  holiness,  prove  thereby  that  they  were  not 
included  in  this  elect  number,  and  were  not 
written  in  the  book  of  life.  The  justice  of  God's 
procedure  herein  is  unquestionable.  Out  of  a 
corrupt  mass,  wherein  not  one  was  better  than 
another,  he  might  (as  was  observed  before)  lovs 
and  choose  whom  and  as  many  as  he  pleased.  It 
was  likewise  without  any  shadow  of  injustice  at 
his  option,  whom  and  how  many  he  would  pass 
by.  His  not  choosing  them  was  the  fruit  of  his 
sovereign  will ;  but  his  condemning  them  after 
death,  and  in  the  last  day  is  the  fruit  (not  of 
their  non-election,  which  was  no  fault  of  theirs  ; 
but)  of  their  own  positive  transgressions.  The 
elect,  therefore,  have  the  utmost  reason  to  love 
and  glorify  God  which  any  beings  can  possibly 
have  :  and  the  sense  of  what  he  has  done  for 
them  is  the  strongest  motive  to  obedience.  On 
14  * 


166 

the  other  hand,  the  reprobates  have  nothing  to 
complain  of,  since  whatever  God  does,  is  just 
and  right,  and  so  it  will  appear  to  be  (however 
darkly  matters  may  appear  to  us  now,)  when  we 
see  him  as  he  is,  and  know  him  even  as  we  are 
known. 

And  now,  why  should  not  this  doctrine  be 
preached  and  insisted  upon  in  public  ?  a  doctrine 
which  is  of  express  revelation  ;  a  doctrine  that 
makes  wholly  for  the  glory  of  God;  which  con- 
duces in  a  most  peculiar  manner  to  the  conver- 
sion, comfort,  and  sanctification  of  the  elect : 
and  leaves  even  the  ungodly  themselves  without 
excuse ! 

But  perhaps  you  may  still  be  inclined  to  ques- 
tion, Whether  predestination  be  indeed  a  scrip- 
ture doctrine.  If  so,  let  me  by  way  of  sample 
beg  you  to  consider  the  following  declarations, 
1.  Of  Christ,  2.  Of  his  Apostles. 

Mat.  xi.  "  If  the  mighty  works  that  have  been 
done  in  thee  had  been  done  in  Tyre  and  Sidon, 
they  would  have  repented,"  8cc.  whence  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  Tyrians  and  Sidonians,  at  least  the 
majority  of  them,  died  in  a  state  of  impeni- 
tency ;  but  that,  if  God  had  given  them  the 
same  means  of  grace  afforded  to  Israel,  they 
would  not  have  died  impenitent :  yet  these  means 
were  not  granted  them.  How  can  this  be  ac- 
counted for  ?  only  on  the  single  principle  of 
peremptory  predestination,  flowing  from  the 
sovereign  will  of  God.  No  wonder  then, 
that  our  Lord  concludes  that  chapter  with 
these  remarkable  words,  "  I  thank  thee,  Holy 
Father,  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  because  thou 
hast  hid  these  things  from  the  wise  and  prudent, 
and  hast  revealed  them  unto  babes  :  even  so,  Fa- 
ther ;  for  so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight"  Where 
Christ  thanks  the   Father   for  doing  that  very 


167 

thing  which  Arminians  exclaim  against  as  unjust, 
and  censure  as  partial ! 

Mat.  xii.  "  To  you  it  is  given  to  know  the 
mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  to  them 
it  is  not  given." 

Mat.  xx.  23.  "  To  sit  on  my  right  hand,  and 
on  my  left,  is  not  mine  to  give,  **>'  •«#  vloi^xtett 
'■jTTo  tx  7rxle<&>  f*#,  except  to  them  for  whom  it  hath 
been  prepared  by  my  Father :"  q.  d.  Salvation  is 
not  a  precarious  thing :  the  seats  in  glory  were 
disposed  of  long  ago  in  my  Father's  intention  and 
destination  :  I  can  only  assign  them  to  such  per- 
sons as  they  were  prepared  for  in  his  decree. 

Mat.  xxii.  "  Many  are  called,  but  few 
chosen  :"  i.  e.  All  who  live  under  the  sound  of 
the  gospel  will  not  be  saved  ;  but  those  only  who 
are  elected  unto  life. 

Mat.  xxiv.  "  For  the  elect's  sake,  those  days 
shall  be  shortened :"  and  ibid.  "  If  it  were  pos- 
sible, they  should  deceive  the  very  elect :"  where 
it  is  plain  Christ  teaches  two  things;  1.  That 
there  is  a  certain  number  of  persons  who  are 
elected  to  grace  and  glory ;  and  2.  That  it  is  ab- 
solutely impossible  for  these  to  be  deceived  into 
total  or  final  apostacy. 

Mat.  xxv.  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father, 
inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world." 

Mark  xi.  "  Unto  you  it  is  given  to  know  the 
mystery  of  the  kingdom  of  God  :  but  to  them 
that  are  without,"  i.  e.  out  of  the  pale  of  elec- 
tion, u  all  these  things  are  done  in  parables  ; 
that,  seeing,  they  may  see,  and  not  perceive ; 
and  hearing,  they  may  hear,  and  not  understand  ; 
lest  at  any  time  they  should  be  converted,  and 
their  sins  should  be  forgiven  them." 

Luke  x.  "  Rejoice,  because  your  names  are 
written  in  heaven." 


168 


Luke  xii.  "  It  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure 
to  give  you  the  kingdom." 

Luke  xvii.  "  One  shall  be  taken  and  the  other 
shall  be  left." 

John  vi.  "  All  that  the  Father  hath  given  me, 
shall  come  unto  me  ;"  as  much  as  to  say,  These 
shall,  but  the  rest  cannot. 

John  viii.  "  He  that  is  of  God  heareth  God's 
words  ;  ye  therefore  hear  them  not  because  ye 
are  not  of  God  :"  not  chosen  of  him. 

John  x.  "  Ye  believe  not,  because  ye  are  not 
of  my  sheep." 

John  xv.  a  Ye  have  not  chosen  me,  but  I  have 
chosen  you." 

I  come  now,  2.  To  the  Apostles. 

John  xii.  37,  40.  "They  believed  not  on  him, 
that  the  saying  of  Esaias  the  prophet  might  be 
fulfilled  which  he  spake  ;  Lord,  who  hath  be- 
lieved our  report  ?  and  to  whom  hath  the  arm  of 
the  Lord  been  revealed  ?  Therefore  they  could 
not  believe,  because  Esaias  said  again,  He  hath 
blinded  their  eyes,  and  hardened  their  hearts, 
that  they  should  not  see  with  their  eyes,  nor  un- 
derstand with  their  hearts,  and  be  converted,  and 
I  should  heal  them."  Without  certain  prescience 
there  could  be  no  prophecy  ;  and  without  predes- 
tination no  certain  prescience  Therefore,  in  or- 
der to  the  accomplishment  of  prophecy,  prescience, 
and  predestination,  we  are  expressly  told  that 
these  persons  could  not  believe,  »«  jiJWv7«,  they 
were  not  able  ;  it  was  out  of  their  power.  In 
short,  there  is  hardly  a  page  in  St.  John's  gospel 
which  does  not  either  expressly  or  implicitly 
make  mention  of  election  and  reprobation. 

St.  Peter  says  of  Judas,  Acts  i.  "  Men  and 
brethren,  the  scriptures  must  needs  have  been 
fulfilled,  which  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  the  mouth  of 
David,  spake  before  concerning  Judas,"  So  ver. 


169 

25.  "  That  he  might  go  to  his  own  place  :"  to 
the  place  of  punishment  appointed  tor  him. 

Acts  ii.  "  Him,  being  delivered  by  the  deter- 
minate counsel  and  foreknowledge  of  God,  ye 
have  taken,  and  with  wicked  hands  have  cruci- 
fied and  slain." 

Acts  iv.  u  Herod,  and  Pontius  Pilate,  and  the 
Gentiles,  and  the  people  of  Israel,  were  gathered 
together  for  to  do  whatsoever  thy  hand  and  thy 
counsel  determined  before  to  be  done  :  ^o^ta-e 
yiverS-cu,  predestinated  should  come  to  pass." 

Acts  xiii.  u  And  as  many  as  were  ordained  to 
eternal  life  believed  :"  rerxT^ttot,  designed,  desti- 
ned, or  appointed  unto  life. 

Concerning  the  apostle  Paul  what  shall  I  say  ? 
every  one  that  has  read  his  epistles  knows  that 
they  teem  with  predestination  from  beginning  to 
end.*  I  shall  only  give  one  or  two  passages  :  and 
begin  with  that  famous  chain,  Rom.  viii.  M  Whom 
he  did  foreknow  (or  forelove,  for,  to  know  often 
signifies  in  scripture  to  love)  he  also  did  predes- 
tinate to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Son, 
that  he  might  be  the  firstborn  among  many  bre- 
thren :"  that  as  in  all  things  else,  so  in  the  busi- 
ness of  election,  Christ  might  have  the  pre-emi- 
nence ;  he  being  first  chosen  as  a  Saviour,  and 
they  in  him  to  be  saved  by  him :   "  moreover, 


*  A  friend  of  mine  who  has  a  large  property  in  Ireland, 
was  conversing  one  day  with  a  popish  tenant  of  his  upon  re- 
ligion. Among  other  points  they  discussed  the  practice  of 
having  public  prayers  in  an  unknown  tongue  My  friend  took 
down  a  New  Testament  from  his  book-case,  and  read  part  of 
1  Cor.  xiv.  When  he  had  finished,  the  poor  zealous  papist 
rose  up  from  his  chair,  and  said  with  great  vehemence,  "  I 
verily  believe  St.  Paul  was  an  heretic." 

Can  the  person  who  carefully  reads  the  epistles  of  that 
great  apostle  doubt  of  his  having  a  thorough-paced  firedes- 
tinqricm  ? 


170 

whom  he  did  predestinate,  them  he  also  called  ; 
and  whom  he  called,  them  he  also  justified ;  and 
whom  he  justified,  them  he  also  glorified." 

The  9th,  10th,  and  11th  chapters  of  the  same 
epistle  are  professed  dissertations  on,  and  illus- 
trations of,  the  doctrine  of  God's  decrees  ;  and 
contain  likewise  a  solution  of  the  principal  objec- 
tions brought  against  that  doctrine. 

Gal.  i.  "  Who  separated  me  from  my  mother's 
womb,  and  called  me  by  his  grace." 

The  first  chapter  of  Ephesians  treats  of  little 
else  but  election  and  predestination. 

2  Thess.  ii.  After  observing  that  the  repro- 
bates perish  wilfully,  the  apostle,  by  a  stri- 
king transition,  addresses  himself  to  the  elect 
Thessalonians,  saying,  "  But  we  are  bound  to 
give  thanks  unto  God  always  for  you,  brethren, 
beloved  of  the  Lord,  because  God  hath  from  the 
beginning  chosen  you  to  salvation,  through  sanc- 
tification  of  the  Spirit  and  belief  of  the  truth." 

2  Tim.  i.  "  Who  hath  saved  us,  and  called  us 
with  an  holy  calling,  not  according  to  our  works, 
but  according  to  his  own  purpose  and  grace, 
which  was  given  us  in  Christ  before  the  world 
began." 

St.  Jude,  on  the  other  hand,  describes  the  re- 
probate as  "  ungodly  men,  who  were  of  old  fore- 
ordained to  this  condemnation." 

Another  apostle  makes  this  peremptory  decla- 
ration ;  "  Who  stumble  at  the  word,  being  diso- 
bedient, whereunto  also  they  were  appointed : 
but  ye  are  a  chosen  generation,  [-/fvo5  sx.Xcx.rov,  an 
elect  race]  a  royal  priesthood,  an  holy  nation,  a 
peculiar  people,  Xu,<&  «s  7r£gt7roirt<riy,  a  people  pur- 
chased to  be  his  peculiar  property  and  posses- 
sion, 1  Pet.  ii.  8,  9.  To  all  which  may  be  added, 

Rev.  xvii.  8.  "  Whose  names  were  not  written  in 
the  book  of  life  from  the  foundation  of  the  world." 


171 

All  these  texts  are  but  as  an  handful  to  the  har- 
vest ;  and  yet  are  both  numerous  and  weighty- 
enough  to  decide  the  point  with  any  who  pay  the 
least  deference  to  scripture  authority.  And  let 
it  be  observed,  that  Christ  and  his  apostles  deli- 
vered these  matters,  not  to  some  privileged  per- 
sons only,  but  to  all  at  large  who  had  ears  to 
hear,  and  eyes  to  read.  Therefore  it  is  incum- 
bent on  every  faithful  minister  to  tread  in  their 
steps  by  doing  likewise  :  nor  is  that  minister  a 
faithful  one,  faithful  to  Christ,  to  truth,  and  to 
souls,  who  keeps  back  any  part  of  the  counsel  of 
God,  and  buries  those  doctrines  in  silence  which 
he  is  commanded  to  preach  upon  the  house-tops. 

The  great  St.  Austin,  in  his  valuable  treatise 
De  Bono  Persever.  effectually  obviates  the  objec- 
tions of  those  who  are  for  burying  the  doctrine 
of  predestination  in  silence.  He  shews  that  it 
ought  to  be  publicly  taught ;  describes  the  neces- 
sity and  usefulness  of  preaching  it ;  and  points 
out  the  manner  of  doing  it  to  edification.  And 
since  some  persons  have  condemned  St.  Austin, 
by  bell,  book,  and  candle,  for  his  steadfast  at- 
tachment to,  and  nervous,  successful  defences  of, 
the  decrees  of  God,  let  us  hear  what  Luther,  that 
great  light  in  the  church,  thought  respecting  the 
argument  before  us. 

Erasmus  (in  most  other  respects  a  very  excel- 
lent man)  affected  to  think  that  it  was  of  danger- 
ous consequence  to  propagate  the  doctrine  of 
predestination,  either  by  preaching  or  writing. 
His  words  are  these  :  "  What  can  be  more  use- 
less than  to  publish  this  paradox  to  the  world  ? 
namely,  that  whatever  we  do,  is  done  not  by  vir- 
tue of  our  own  free  will,  but  in  a  way  of  neces- 
sity, &c.  What  a  wide  gap  does  the  publication 
of  this  tenet  open  among  men  for  the  commis- 
sion of  ail  ungodliness  1    What  wicked  person 


172 

will  reform  bis  life?  Who  will  dare  to  believe 
himself  a  favourite  of  heaven  ?  Who  will  fight 
against  his  own  corrupt  inclinations  ?  Therefore, 
where  is  either  the  need  or  the  utility  of  spread- 
ing these  notions  from  whence  so  many  evils 
stem  to  flow  r" 

To  which  Luther  replies  :  "  If,  my  Erasmus, 
you  consider  these  paradoxes  (as  you  term  them) 
to  be  no  more  than  the  inventions  of  men,  why  are 
you  so  extravagantly  heated  on  the  occasion  ?  In 
that  case  your  arguments  affect  not  me  ;  for  there 
is  no  person  now  living  in  the  world,  who  is  a 
more  avowed  enemy  to  the  doctrines  of  men 
than  myself.  But,  if  you  believe  the  doctrines 
in  debate  between  us  to  be,  as  indeed  they  are, 
the  doctrines  of  God,  you  must  have  bid  adieu  to 
all  sense  of  shame  and  decency  thus  to  oppose 
them.  I  will  not  ask,  Whither  the  modesty  of 
Erasmus  is  fled  ?  but,  which  is  much  more  im- 
portant, Where,  alas  !  are  your  fear  and  rever- 
ence of  the  Deity,  when  you  roundly  declare, 
that  this  branch  of  truth,  which  he  has  revealed 
from  heaven,  is  at  best  useless,  and  unnecessary 
to  be  known  ?  What !  shall  the  glorious  Creator 
be  taught  by  you,  his  creature,  what  is  fit  to  be 
preached,  and  what  to  be  suppressed?  Is  the 
adorable  God  so  very  defective  in  wisdom  and 
prudence  as  not  to  know,  till  you  instruct  him, 
what  would  be  useful,  and  what  pernicious  ?  or 
could  not  he,  whose  understanding  is  infinite, 
foresee  previous  to  his  revelation  of  this  doctrine, 
what  would  be  the  consequences  of  his  revealing 
it,  till  those  consequences  were  pointed  out  by 
you  ?  You  cannot,  you  dare  not  say  this.  If, 
then,  it  was  the  divine  pleasure  to  make  known 
these  things  in  his  word,  and  to  bid  his  messen- 
gers publish  them  abroad,  and  leave  the  conse- 
quences of  their  so  doing  to  the  wisdom  and  pro- 


ITS 

vidence  of  him,  in  whose  name  they  speak,  and 
whose  message  they  declare,  who  art  thou,  O 
Erasmus,  that  thou  shouldest  reply  against  God, 
and  say  to  the  Almighty,  What  doest  thou  ?  St. 
Paul,  discoursing  of  God,  declares  peremptorily, 
Whom  he  will  he  hardeneth  :  and  again,  God 
willing  to  shew  his  wrath,  &c.  And  the  apostle 
did  not  write  this  to  have  it  stifled  among  few  per- 
sons, and  buried  in  a  corner;  but  wrote  it  to  the 
Christians  at  Rome ;  which  was  in  effect  bring- 
ing this  doctrine  upon  the  stage  of  the  whole 
world,  stamping  an  universal  imprimatur  upon  it 
and  publishing  it  to  believers  at  large  throughout 
the  earth.  What  can  sound  harsher  in  the  uncir- 
cumcised  ears  of  carnal  men,  than  those  words 
of  Christ,  Many  are  called,  but  few  chosen  ?  and 
elsewhere,  I  know  whom  I  have  chosen.  Now, 
these  and  similar  assertions  of  Christ  and  his 
apostles,  are  the  \-ery  positions  which  you,  O 
Erasmus,  brand  as  useless  and  hurtful.  You 
object,  "  If  these  things  are  so,  who  will  endea- 
vour to  amend  his  life  ?"  I  answer ;  Without 
the  Holy  >.  host  no  man  can  amend  his  life  to 
purpose.  Reformation  is  but  varnished  hypo- 
crisy unless  it  proceed  from  grace.  The  elect 
and  truly  pious  are  amended  by  the  Spirit  of 
God :  and  those  of  mankind  who  are  not  amend- 
ed by  him  will  perish. — You  ask  moreover,  Who 
will  dare  to  believe  himself  a  favourite  of  hea- 
ven ?  I  answer ;  It  is  not  in  man's  own  power  to 
believe  himself  such  upon  just  grounds,  till  he  is 
enabled  from  above.  But  the  elect  shall  be  so 
enabled  :  they  shall  believe  themselves  to  be  what 
indeed  they  are.  As  for  the  rest,  who  are  not  en- 
dued with  faith,  they  shall  perish;  raging  and  blas- 
pheming as  you  do  now.  But,  say  you,  These 
doctrines  open  a  door  to  ungodliness.  I  answer ; 
Whatever  door  they  may  open  to  the  impious  and 
15 


174 

prophane,  yet  they  open  a  door  of  righteousness  to 
the  elect  and  holy,  and  shew  them  the  way  to  hea- 
ven, and  the  path  of  access  unto  God.  Yet  you 
would  have  us  abstain  from  the  mention  of  these 
grand  doctrines,  and  leave  our  people  in  the  dark 
as  to  their  election  of  God  :  the  consequence  of 
which  would  be,  that  every  man  would  bolster  him- 
self up  with  a  delusive  hope  of  share  in  that  salva- 
tion which  is  supposed  to  lie  open  to  all ;  and  thus 
genuine  humility,  and  the  practical  fear  of  God, 
would  be  kicked  out  of  doors.  This  would  be  a  pret- 
ty way  indeed  of  stoppingup  the  gap  Erasmus  com- 
plains of !  Instead  of  closing  up  the  door  of  licen- 
tiousness, as  is  falsely  pretended,  it  would  be  in 
fact  opening  a  gulf  into  the  nethermost  hell.  Still 
you  urge,  Where  is  either  the  necessity,  or  util- 
ity, of  preaching  predestination  ?  God  himself 
teaches  it,  and  commands  us  to  teach  it ;  and  that 
is  answer  enough.  We  are  not  to  arraign  the 
Deity,  and  bring  the  motives  of  his  will  to  the 
test  of  human  scrutiny  i  but  simply  to  revere 
both  hhn  and  it.  He,  who  alone  is  all-wise  and 
all-just,  can  in  reality  (however  things  appear  to 
us)  do  wrong  to  no  man  ;  neither  can  he  do  any 
thing  unwisely  or  rashly.  And  this  considera- 
tion will  suffice  to  silence  all  the  objections  of 
truly  religious  persons.  However,  let  us  lor  ar- 
gument's sake  go  a  step  farther.  I  will  venture 
to  assign  over  and  above,  two  very  important 
reasons,  why  these  doctrines  should  be  publicly 
taught :  1.  For  the  humiliation  oi  our  pride,  and 
the  manifestation  of  divine  grace.  God  hath  as- 
suredly promised  his  favour  to  the  truly  humble. 
By  truly  humble,  I  mean  those  who  are  endued 
with  repentance,  and  despair  of  saving  them- 
selves ;  for  a  man  can  never  be  said  to  be  really 
penitent  and  humble,  till  he  is  made  to  know  th  it 
his   salvation  is  not  suspended  in  any  measure 


175 

whatever  on  his  own  strength,  machinations,  en* 
deavours,  free-will,  or  works  ;  but  entirely  de- 
pends on  the  free  pleasure,  purpose,  determina- 
tion, and  efficiency  of  another ;  even  of  God 
klone.  Whilst  a  man  is  persuaded  that  he  has  it 
in  his  power  to  contribute  any  thing,  be  it  ever  so 
little,  to  his  own  salvation,  he  remains  in  carnal 
confidence  ;  he  is  not  a  sclf-despairer,  and  there- 
fore he  is  not  duly  humbled  before  God ;  so  far 
from  it,  that  he  hopes  some  favourable  juncture 
or  opportunity  will  offer,  when  he  may  be  able  to 
lend  an  helping  hand  to  the  business  of  his  salva- 
tion.— On  the  contrary,  whoever  is  truly  convin- 
ced that  the  whole  work  depends  singly  and  abso- 
lutely on  the  will  of  God,  who  alone  is  the  au- 
thor and  finisher  of  salvation  ;  such  a  person  de- 
spairs of  all  self-assistance  ;  he  renounces  his  own 
will,  and  his  own  strength ;  he  waits  and  prays  for 
the  operation  of  God ;  nor  waits  and  prays  in  vain. 
For  the  elect's  sake,  therefore,  these  doctrines  are 
to  be  preached,  that  the  chosen  of  God,  being  hum- 
bled by  the  knowledge  of  his  truths,  self-emptied 
and  sunk  as  it  were  into  nothing  in  his  presence, 
may  be  saved  in  Christ  with  eternal  glory.  This, 
then,  is  one  inducement  to  the  publication  of  the 
doctrine  ;  that  the  penitent  may  be  made  acquaint- 
ed with  the  promise  of  grace,  plead  it  in  prayer 
to  God,  and  receive  it  as  their  own.  2.  The  na- 
ture of  the  Christian  faith  requires  it.  Faith  has 
to  do  with  things  not  seen. — And  this  is  one  of 
the  highest  degrees  of  faith,  steadfastly  to  be- 
lieve that  God  is  infinitely  merciful,  though  he 
saves  (comparatively)  but  few,  and  condemns  so 
many  ;  and  that  he  is  strictly  just,  though  of 
his  own  will  he  makes  such  numbers  of  mankind 
necessarily  liable  to  damnation.  Now,  these  are 
some  of  the  unseen  things  whereof  faith  is  the 
evidence.     Whereas,  was  it  in  my  power  to  com- 


176 

prehend  them,  or  clearly  to  make  out,  how  God 
is  both  inviolably  just  and  infinitely  merciful,  not- 
withstanding the  display  of  wrath  and  seeming 
inequality  in  his  dispensations  respecting  the  re- 
probate ;  faith  would  have  little  or  nothing  to 
do.  But  now,  since  these  matters  cannot  be  ade- 
quately comprehended  by  us  in  the  present  state 
of  imperfection,  there  is  room  for  the  exercise  of 
faith.  The  truths,  therefore,  respecting  predes- 
tination in  all  its  branches,  should  be  taught  and 
published  ;  they,  no  less  than  the  other  mysteries 
of  Christian  doctrine,  being  proper  objects  of 
faith  on  the  part  of  God's  people."* 

With  Luther  the  excellent  Bucer  agrees  ;  par- 
ticularly on  Eph.  i.  where  his  words  are,  "  There 
are  some  who  affirm  that  election  is  not  to  be 
mentioned  publicly  to  the  people.  But  they 
judge  wrongly.  The  blessings  which  God  be- 
stows on  man  are  not  to  be  suppressed,  but  in- 
sisted and  enlarged  upon ;  and  if  so,  surely  the 
blessing  of  predestination  unto  life,  which  is  the 
greatest  blessing  of  all,  should  not  be  passed 
over."  And,  a  little  after  he  adds,  "  Take  away 
the  remembrance  and  consideration  of  our  elec- 
tion, and  then,  good  God  !  what  weapons  have 
we  left  us  wherewith  to  resist  the  temptations  of 
Satan  ?  As  often  as  he  assaults  our  faith  (which 
he  is  frequently  doing)  we  must  constantly,  and 
without  delay,  have  recourse  to  our  election  in 
Christ  as  to  a  city  of  refuge.  Meditation  upon 
the  Father's  appointment  of  us  to  eternal  life  is 
the  best  antidote  against  the  evil  surmisings  of 
doubtfulness  and  remaining  unbelief.  If  we  are 
entirely  void  of  all  hope  and  assurance  respect- 


*  Luthcrus,  De   Serv.  Arbitr.  in  rcspons.  ad  ult  pratf.fc 
Eras  mi. 


177 

wg  our  interest  in  this  capital  privilege,  what 
solid  and  comfortable  expectation  can  we  enter- 
tain of  future  blessedness  ?  How  can  we  look 
upon  God  as  our  gracious  Father,  and  upon 
Christ  as  our  unchangeable  Redeemer  ?  without 
which,  I  see  not  how  we  can  ever  truly  love  God  : 
and  if  we  have  no  true  love  towards  him,  how 
can  we  yield  acceptable  obedience  to  him  !  There- 
fore, those  persons  are  not  to  be  heard  who 
would  have  the  doctrine  of  election  laid  (as  it 
were)  asleep,  and  seldom  or  never  make  its  ap- 
pearance in  the  congregations  of  the  faithful." 
.  To  what  these  great  men  have  so  nervously 
advanced,  permit  me  to  add,  that  the  doctrine  of 
predestination  is  not  only  useful,  but  absolutely 
necessary  to  be  taught  or  known.     For, 

1.  Without  it  we  cannot  form  just  and  becom- 
ing ideas  of  God.  Thus,  unless  he  certainly 
foreknows,  and  foreknew  from  everlasting,  all 
things  that  should  come  to  pass,  his  understand- 
ing would  be  finite  :  and  a  Deity  of  limited 
understanding,  is  no  Deity  at  all.  Again,  we 
cannot  suppose  him  to  have  foreknown  any  thing 
which  he  had  not  previously  decreed  ;  without 
setting  up  a  series  of  causes,  extra  Deum,  and 
making  the  Deity  dependent  for  a  great  part  of 
the  knowledge  he  has,  upon  the  will  and  works 
of  his  creatures,  and  upon  a  combination  of  cir- 
cumstances exterior  to  himself*.  Therefore,  his 
determinate  plan,  counsel,  and  purpose,  (i.  e.  his 
own  predestination  of  causes  and  effects,  is  the 
only  basis  of  his  foreknowledge  :  which  fore- 
knowledge could  neither  be  certain,  nor  inde- 
pendent, but  as  founded  on  his  own  antecedent 
decree.  2.  He  alone  is  entitled  to  the  name  of 
true  God,  who  governs  all  things,  and  without 
whose  will  (either  efficient  or  permissive)  nothing 
:s  or  can  be  done..  And  such  is  the  God  of  the 
15  * 


178 

scriptures  ;  against  whose  will  not  a  sparrow  can 
die,  nor  an  hair  fall  from  our  heads,  Mat.  x.  Now 
what  is  predestination,  but  the  determining  will 
of  God?  I  defy  the  subtilest  semi-pelagian  in 
the  Vorld  to  form  or  convey  a  just  and  wor- 
thy notion  of  the  Supreme  Being,  without  ad- 
mitting him  to  be  the  great  cause  of  all  causes 
else,  himself  dependent  on  none  :  who  willed 
from  eternity,  how  he  would  act  in  time,  and 
settled  a  regular  determinate  scheme  of  what  he 
would  do,  and  permit  to  be  done  from  the  begin- 
ning to  the  consummation  of  the  world.  A  con- 
trary view  of  the  Deity  is  as  inconsistent  with 
reason  itself,  and  with  the  very  religion  of  na- 
ture, as  it  is  with  the  decisions  of  revelation. 
Nor  can  we  rationally  conceive  of  an  indepen- 
dent, all-perfect  first  cause  without  allowing  him 
to  be,  3.  Unchangeable  in  his  purposes.  His  de- 
crees and  his  essence  coincide  :  consequently,  a 
change  in  those  would  infer  an  alteration  in  this. 
Nor  can  that  being  be  the  true  God,  whose  will  is 
variable,  fluctuating,  and  indeterminate  :  for  his 
will  is  himself  willing.  A  Deity  without  decrees 
and  decrees  without  immutability,  are,  of  all  in- 
ventions that  ever  entered  the  heart  of  man,  the 
most  absurd.  4.  Without  predestination  to  plan, 
and  without  providence  to  put  that  plan  in  exe- 
cution, what  becomes  of  God's  omnipotence  ?  It 
vanishes  into  air.  It  becomes  a  mere  non-entity. 
For  what  sort  of  omnipotence  is  that  which  may- 
be baffled  and  defeated  by  the  very  creatures  it 
has  made  !  Very  different  is  the  idea  of  this  at- 
tribute suggested  by  the  Psalmist,  Psalm  cxiii. 
"  Whatsoever  the  Lord  willed,  that  did  he  in  hea- 
ven and  in  earth,  and  in  the  sea,  and  in  all  deep  pla- 
ces :"  i.  e.  He  not  only  made  them  when  he  would, 
but  orders  them  when  made.  5.  He  alone  is  the 
true  God,  according  to  scripture  representation, 


179 

who  saves  by  his  mere  mercy  and  voluntary 
grace,  those  whom  he  hath  chosen,  and  righteous  - 
\y  condemns  (for  their  sins)  those  whom  he 
thought  fit  to  pass  by.  But,  without  predestina- 
tion there  could  be  no  such  thing,  either  as  sove- 
reign mercy,  or  voluntary  grace.  For,  after  all, 
what  is  predestination  but  his  decree  to  save 
some  of  his  mere  goodness  :  and  to  condemn 
others  in  his  just  judgment  ? — Now,  it  is  most 
evident  that  the  scripture  doctrine  of  predestina- 
tion, is  the  clearest  mirror  wherein  to  see  and 
contemplate  these  essential  attributes  of  God. 
Here  they  all  shine  forth  in  their  fulness  of  har- 
mony and  lustre.  Deny  predestination  and  you 
deny  (though  perhaps  not  intentionally,  yet  by 
necessary  consequence,)  the  adorable  perfections 
of  the  Godhead  :  in  concealing  that,  you 
throw  a  vail  over  these  ;  and  in  preaching  that 
you  hold  up  these  to  the  comfort,  the  establish- 
ment, and  the  admiration  of  the  believing  world. 
II.  Predestination  is  to  be  preached,  because 
the  grace  of  God  (which  stands  opposed  to  all 
human  worthiness)  cannot  be  maintained  without 
it.  The  excellent  St.  Austin  makes  use  of  this 
very  argument.  "  If,"  says  he,  "  these  two 
privileges"  [namely,  faith  itself  and  final  perse- 
verance in  faith]  "  are  the  gifts  of  God ;  and  if 
God  foreknew  on  whom  he  would  bestow  these 
gifts  ;  (and  who  can  doubt  of  so  evident  a  truth  ?) 
it  is  necessary  for  predestination  to  be  preached 
as  the  sure  and  invincible  bulwark  of  that  true 
grace  of  God,  which  is  given  to  men  without 
anv  consideration  of  merit."*  Thus  argued  St. 
Austin  against  the  Pelagians,  who  taught,  that 
grace  is  offered  to  all  men  alike  ;   That  God,  for 


De  Bono  Persever.  cap.  21. 


180 

his  part,  equally  wills  the  salvation  of  all ;  and 
that  it  is  in  the  power  of  man's  free  will  to  ac- 
cept or  reject  the  grace  and  salvation  so  offered. 
Which  string  of  errors  do,  as  Austin  justly  ob- 
serves, centre  in  this  grand  point,  gratiam  secun- 
dum nostra  merita  dart  ;  that  God's  grace  is  not 
free,  but  the  fruit  of  man's  desert.  Now  the  doc- 
trine of  predestination  batters  down  this  delusive 
Babel  of  free  will  and  merit.  It  teaches  us  that 
if  we  do  indeed  will  and  desire  to  lay  hold  on 
Christ  and  salvation  by  him,  this  will  and  desire 
are  the  effect  of  God's  secret  purpose  and  effect- 
ual operation  :  for  he  it  is  who  worketh  in  us, 
both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  own  good  pleasure  ; 
that  he  that  glorieth  should  glory  in  the  Lord. 
There  neither  is  nor  can  be  any  medium  between 
predestinating  grace,  and  salvation  by  human 
merit.  We  must  believe  and  preach  one  or  the 
other :  for  they  can  never  stand  together.  No 
attempts  to  mingle  and  reconcile  these  two  incom- 
patible opposites  can  ever  succeed ;  the  apostle 
himself  being  judge  ;  "  If,"  says  he,  "  it  [namely 
election]  be  by  grace,  then  is  it  no  more  of  works  ; 
otherwise  grace  is  no  more  grace  :  but  if  it  be  of 
works,  then  is  it  no  more  grace  :  otherwise  work 
is  no  more  work,  Rom.  xi.  6.  Exactly  agreea- 
ble to  which  is  that  of  St.  Austin  :  u  Either  pre- 
destination is  to  be  preached  as  expressly  as  the 
scriptures  deliver  it,  viz.  That  with  regard  to 
those  whom  he  hath  chosen,  the  gifts  and  calling 
of  God  are  without  repentance ;  or  we  must 
roundly  declare  as  the  Pelagians  do,  that  grace  is 
given  according  to  merit."f  Most  certain  it  is 
that  the  doctrine  of  gratuitous  justification 
through  Christ,  can  only  be  supported  on  that  of 


f  De  Bono  Persevcr.  cap.  16. 


181 

gratuitous  predestination  in  Christ :  since  the 
latter  is  the  cause  and  foundation  of  the  former. 
III.  By  the  preaching  of  predestination  man 
is  duly  humbled,  and  God  alone  is  exalted  :   hu- 
man pride  is  levelled-  and  the  Divine  glory  shines 
untarnished  because  unrivalled.     This  the  sacred 
writers   positively   declare.      Let   St.    Paul    be 
spokesman  for  the  rest,  (Eph.  i.  5,  6.)  Having 
predestinated  us — To  the  praise  of  the  glory  of 
his  grace.     But  how  is  it  possible  for  us  to  render 
unto  God  the  praises  due  to  the  glory  of  his  grace 
without  laying  this  threefold  foundation  ?   1 .  That 
whosoever  are,  or  shall  be  saved,  are  saved' by  his 
alone  grace  in  Christ,  in  consequence  of  his  eter- 
nal purpose,  passed   before  they  had  done  any 
one  good  thing.     2.  That  what  good  thing  so- 
ever is  begun  to  be  wrought  in  our  souls  (whe- 
ther it  be  illumination  of  the  understanding,  rec- 
titude of  will,  or  purity  of  affections,)   was  be- 
gun altogether  of  God  alone  ;  by  whose  invinci- 
ble agency  grace  is  at  first  conferred,  afterwards 
maintained,  and  finally  crowned.     3.  That  the 
work  of  internal  salvation  (the  sweet  and  certain 
prelude  to  eternal  glory)  was  not  only  begun  in 
us  of  his  mere  grace  ;  but  that  its  continuance,  its 
progress,    and  increase    are  no   less   free,    and 
totally  unmerited,  than  its  first  original  donation. 
Grace  alone   makes  the    elect    gracious ;    grace 
alone  keeps  them  gracious  ;  and  the  same  grace 
alone  will  render  hem   everlastingly  glorious  in 
the  heaven  of  heavens. 

Conversion  and  salvation  must  in  the  very  na- 
ture of  things,  be  wrought  and  effected  either  by 
ourselves  alone  ; — or,  by  ourselves  and  God  to- 
gether ; — or  solely  by  God  himself.  The  Pelagi- 
ans were  for  the  first.  The  Arminians  are  for 
the  second.  True  believers  are  for  the  last ; 
because  the  last  hypothesis,  and  that   only,   is 


182 

built  on  the  strongest  evidence  of  scripture,  rea- 
son, and  experience  ;  it  most  effectually  hides 
pride  from  man,  and  sets  the  crown  of  undivided 
praise  upon  the  head,  or  rather  casts  it  at  the 
feet  of  that  glorious  triune  God,  who  worketh  all 
in  all.  But  this  is  a  crown  which  no  sinners 
ever  yet  cast  before  the  throne  of  God,  who  were 
not  first  led  into  the  transporting  views  of 
his  gracious  decree  to  save  freely  and  of  his  own 
will  the  people  of  his  eternal  love.  Exclude, 
therefore,  O  Christian,  the  article  of  sovereign 
predestination  from  thy  ministry,  or  from  thy 
faith  ;  and  acquit  thyself,  if  thou  art  able,  from 
the  charge  of  robbing  God. 

When  God  does'  by  the  omnipotent  exertion  of 
his  Spirit,  effectually  call  any  of  mankind,  in 
time,  to  the  actual  knowledge  of  himself  in 
Christ  j  when  he  likewise  goes  on  to  sanctify  the 
sinners  he  has  called,  making  them  to  excel  in 
all  good  works,  and  to  persevere  in  the  love  and 
resemblance  of  God  to  their  lives  end  :  the  ob- 
serving part  of  the  unawakened  world  may  be 
apt  to  conclude  that  the  converted  persons  might 
receive  such  measure  of  grace  from  God,  because 
of  some  previous  qualifications,  good  disposi- 
tions, or  pious  desires,  and  internal  preparations, 
discovered  in  them  by  the  all-seeing  eye  ;  which, 
if  tru  ,  would  indeed  transfer  the  praise  from 
the  Creator,  and  consign  it  to  the  creature.  But 
the  doctrine  of  predestination,  absolute,  free,  un- 
conditional predestination,  here  steps  in,  and 
gives  God  his  own.  It  lays  the  axe  to  the  root 
of  human  boasting,  and  cuts  down  (for  which 
reason  the  natural  man  hates  it)  every  legal, 
every  independent,  every  self-righteous  imagina- 
tion, that  would  exalt  itself  against  the  grace  cf 
God  and  the  glory  of  Christ.  It  tells  us,  That  God 
hath  blessed  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in  his 


183 

Son,  according  as  he  hath  chosen  us  in  him,  be* 
fore  the  foundation  of  the  world,  in  order  to  our 
being  afterwards  made  holy  and  blameless  before 
him  in  love,  Eph.  i.  Of  course,  whatever  truly 
and  spiritually  good  thing  is  found  in  any  person, 
it  is  the  special  gift  and  work  of  God  :  given 
and  wrought  in  consequence  of  eternal,  unmerit- 
ed election  to  grace  and  glory.  Whence  the 
greatest  saint  cannot  triumph  over  the  most  aban- 
doned sinner,  but  is  led  to  refer  the  entire  praise 
of  his  salvation,  both  from  sin  and  hell,  to  the 
.mere  good  will  and  sovereign  purpose  of  God, 
who  hath  graciously  made  him  to  differ  from 
that  world  which  lieth'in  wickedness.  Such  be- 
ing the  tendency  of  this  blessed  doctrine,  how 
injurious,  both  to  God  and  man  would  the  sup- 
pression of  it  be  ?  Well  does  St.  Austin  argue  : 
"  As  the  duties  of  piety  ought  to  be  preached 
up,  that  he  who  hath  ears  to  hear  may  be  instruct- 
ed how  to  worship  God  aright ;  and  as  chastity 
should  be  publicly  recommended  and  enforced, 
that  he  that  hath  ears  to  hear  may  know  how  to 
possess  himself  in  sanctification.  And  as  chari- 
ty moreover  should  be  inculcated  from  the  pul- 
pit, that  he  who  hath  ears  to  hear  may  be  exci- 
ted to  the  ardent  love  of  God,  and  his  neigh- 
bour ;  in  like  manner,  should  Cod's  predestina- 
tion of  his  favours  be  openly  preached,  that  he 
who  hath  ears  to  hear  may  learn  to  glory,  not  in 
himself  but  in  the  Lord."  * 

IV.  Predestination  should  be  publicly  taught 
and  insisted  upon,  in  order  to  confirm  and 
strengthen  true  believers  in  the  certainty  and  con- 


De  Bono  Persever.  cap.  20. 


184 

licence  of  their  salvation.*  For,  when  regene- 
rate persons  are  told,  and  are  enabled  to  believe, 
that  the  glorification  of  the  elect  is  so  assuredly 
fixed  in  God's  eternal  purpose,  that  it  is  impossi- 
ble for  any  of  them  to  perish  j  and  when  the  re- 
generate are  led  to  consider  themselves  as  actu- 
ally belonging  to  this  elect  body  of  Christ ;  what 
can  establish,  strengthen,  and  settle  their  faith 
like  this  ?  Nor  is  such  a  faith  presumptuous  ;  for 
every  converted  man  may  and  ought  to  conclude 
himself  elected  :  since  God  the  Spirit  renews 
those  only  who  were  chosen  by  God  the  Father, 
and  redeemed  by  God  the  Son.  This  is  an  hope 
\vhich  maketh  not  ashamed,  nor  can  possibly 
issue  in  disappointment,  if  entertained  by  those 
into  whose  hearts  the  love  of  God  is  poured 
forth  by  the  Holy  Ghost  given  unto  them,  Rom. 
v»  •>• 

The  holy  triumph  and  assurance  resulting 
from  this  blessed  view,  are  expressly  warranted 
by  the  apostle,  Rom.  viii.  where  he  deduces  ef- 
fectual calling  from  a  prior  predestination  ;  and 
infers  the  certainty  of  final  salvation  from  effect- 
ual calling.  Whom  he  did  predestinate,  them  he 
also  called;  and  whom  he  called,  them  he  also 
justified ;  and  whom  he  justified,  them  he  also 
glorified.  How  naturally  from  such  premises, 
does  the  apostle  add,  Who  shall  lay  any  thing 


*  Our  venerable  reformers  in  the  17th  of  our  xxxix  arti- 
cles, make  the  very  same  observation,  and  nearly  in  the  same 
words : — "  The  godly  consideration  of  predestination  and 
our  election  in  Christ  is  full  of  sweet,  pleasant,  and  unspeak- 
able comforts  to  godly  persons  ; — because  it  cloth  greatly  es- 
tablish and  confirm  their  faith  of  everlasting  salvation,  to  be 
enjoyed  through  Christ,  &c." 


183 

to  the  charge  of  God's  elect  ?  Who,  and  where 
is  he  that  condemneth  them  ?  Who  and  what 
shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ  ? — In 
all  these  things  we  are,  and  shall  be  more  than 
conquerors  through  him  who  hath  loved  us  :  for 
I  -am  persuaded  [irivue-pMi*  I  am  most  clearly 
and  assuredly  confident,]  that  neither  death  nor 
life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers, 
nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  height, 
nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be  able 
to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Cod,  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.  So,  elsewhere,  The 
foundation  of  the  Lord,  i.  e.  his  decree  or  pur- 
pose, according  to  election  standeth  sure  ;  hav- 
ing this  seal,  The  Lord  hioweth  them  that  are 
his :  which  is  particularly  noted  by  the  apostle, 
lest  true  believers  might  be  discouraged,  and  be- 
gin to  doubt  of  their  own  certain  perseverance 
to  salvation,  either  from  a  sense  of  their  remain- 
ing imperfections,  or  from  observing  the  open 
apostacy  of  unregenerate  professors,  2  Tim.  ii. — 
How  little  obliged,  therefore,  are  the  flock  of 
Christ  to  those  persons,  who  would,  by  stifling 
the  mention  of  predestination,  expunge  the  sense 
and  certainty  of  everlasting  blessedness  from  the 
list  of  Christian  privileges  ! 

V.  Without  the  doctrine  of  predestination  we 
cannot  enjoy  a  lively  sight  and  experience  of 
God's  special  love  and  mercy  towards  us  in 
Christ  Jesus.  Blessings  not  peculiar,  but  confer- 
red indiscriminately,  on  every  man  without  ex- 
ception, would  neither  be  a  proof  of  peculiar  love 
in  the  donor,  nor  calculated  to   excite   peculiar 


*  Certus  sum,  Ar.  Montan.  Cert  fide  persuasum  mibi 
habeo,  Erasm.  Victa  omni  dubitatione  Bengal.  I  am  as- 
sured, Dutch  version. 

16 


186 

wonder  and  gratitude  in  the  receiver.  For  in- 
stance ;  rain  from  heaven,  though  an  invaluable 
benefit,  is  not  considered  as  an  argument  of  God's 
special  and  peculiar  favour  to  some  individuals 
above  others  :  and  why  ?  because  it  falls  on 
all  alike  :  as  much  on  the  rude  wilderness,  and 
the  barren  rock,  as  on  the  cultivated  garden, 
and  the  fruitful  field. — But  the  blessing  of  elec- 
tion, somewhat  like  the  Sibylline  books,  rises  in 
value  proportionally  to  the  fewness  of  its  objects. 
So  that  when  we  recollect  that  in  the  view  of 
God  (to  whom  all  things  are  at  once  present,) 
the  whole  mass  of  mankind  was  considered  as 
justly  liable  to  condemnation  on  account  of  origin- 
al and  actual  iniquity  ;  his  selecting  some  indi- 
viduals from  among  the  rest,  and  graciously  set- 
ting them  apart  in  Christ  for  salvation,  both  from 
sin  and  punishment,  were  such  acts  of  sovereign 
goodness,  as  exhibit  the  exceeding  greatness,  and 
the  entire  freeness  of  his  love,  in  the  most 
awful,  amiable,  and  humbling  light.  In  order 
then,  that  the  special  grace  of  God  may  shine, 
predestination  must  be  preached  ;  even  the  eter- 
nal and  immutable  predestination  of  his  people 
to  faith  and  everlasting  life.  u  From  those  who 
are  left  under  the  power  of  guilt,"  says  St.  Aus- 
tin, "  the  person  who  is  delivered  from  it  may 
learn  what  he  too  must  have  suffered,  had  not 
grace  stept  in  to  his  relief.  And,  if  it  was  grace 
that  interposed,  it  could  not  be  the  reward  of 
man's  merit,  but  the  free  gift  of  God's  gratuitous 
goodness.  Some,  however,  call  it  unjust  for 
one  to  be  delivered,  while  another,  though  no 
more  guilty  than  the  former,  is  condemned  :  If 
it  be  just  to  punish  one,  it  would  be  but  justice 
to  punish  both.  I  grant  that  both  might  have 
been  justly  punished.  Let  us  therefore  give 
thanks  unto  God  our  Saviour,  for  not  inflicting 


187 

that  vengeance  on  us,  which  from  the  condemna- 
tion of  our  fellow-sinners  we  may  conclude  to 
have  been  our  desert  no  less  than  theirs.  Had 
they  as  well  as  we  been  ransomed  from  their 
captivity,  we  could  have  framed  but  little  concep- 
tion of  the  penal  wrath  due  in  strictness  of  jus- 
tice to  sin  :  and  on  the  other  hand,  had  none  of 
the  fallen  race  been  ransomed  and  set  at  liberty, 
how  could  divine  grace  have  displayed  the  rich- 
es of  its  liberality*  ?"  The  same  evangelical  fa- 
ther delivers  himself  elsewhere  to  the  same  ef- 
fect :  "  Hence,"  says  he,  "  appears  the  great- 
ness of  that  grace  by  which  so  many  are  freed 
from  condemnation :  and  they  may  form  some 
idea  of  the  misery  due  to  themselves,  from  the 
dreadfulness  of  the  punishment  that  awaits  the 
rest.  Whence  those  who  rejoice,  are  taught  to 
rejoice,  not  in  their  own  merits  {quce  paria  esse 
vident  damnatis,  for  they  see  that  they  have  no 
more  merit  than  the  damned^)  but  in  the  Lord."f 
Hence  results, 

VI.  Another  reason,  nearly  connected  with 
the  former,  for  the  unreserved  publication  of  this 
doctrine  :  viz.  That  from  a  sense  of  God's  pecu- 
liar, eternal,  and  unalterable  love  to  his  people, 
their  hearts  maybe  enflamed  to  love  him  in  return. 
Slender  indeed  will  be  my  motives  to  the  love  of 
God,  on  the  supposition  that  my  love  to  him  is 
before  hand  with  his  to  me  ;  and  that  the  very 
continuance  of  his  favour  is  suspended  on  the 
weathercock  of  my  variable  will,  or  the  flimsy 
thread  of  my  imperfect  affection.  Such  a  preca- 
rious dependent  love  were  unworthy  of  God  : 
and  calculated  to  produce  but  a  scanty  and  cold 


*  Epist  105.  ad  Sixt.  Presb. 

f  De  Predest.  Sanctor.  lib.  1.  cap.  9. 


I8& 

reciprocation  of  love  from  man.  At  the  happi- 
est of  times,  and  in  the  best  of  frames  below, 
our  love  to  God  is  but  a  spark  (though  small  and 
quivering,  yet  inestimably  precious,  because  di- 
vinely kindled,  fanned  and  maintained  in  the 
soul,  and  an  earnest  of  better  to  come  :)  where- 
as love,  as  it  glows  in  God,  is  an  immense  sun, 
which  shone  without  beginning,  and  shall  shine 
without  end.  Is  it  probable,  then,  that  the  spark 
of  human  love  should  give  being  to  the  sun  of 
divine  ?  and,  that  the  lustre  and  warmth  of  this 
should  depend  on  the  glimmering  of  that  ?  yet 
so  it  must  be  if  predestination  is  not  true  :  and 
so  it  must  be  represented  if  predestination  is  not 
taught. — Would  you  therefore  know  what  it  is 
to  love  God  as  your  Father,  Friend,  and  Saviour; 
vou  must  fall  down  before  his  electing  mercy. 
Till  then  you  are  only  hovering  about  in  quest  of 
true  felicity.  But  you  will  never  find  the  door, 
much  less  can  you  enter  into  rest,  till  you  are  en- 
abled to  love  him  because  he  hath  first  loved  you, 
1  John  iv.  19. 

This  being  the  case,  it  is  evident,  That  withr 
out  taking  predestination  into  the  account,  genu- 
ine morality  and  the  performance  of  truly  good 
works  will  suffer,  starve,  and  die  away.  Love 
to  God  is  the  very  fuel  of  acceptable  obedience. 
Withdraw  the  fuel,  and  the  flame  expires.  But 
the  fuel  of  holy  affection  (if  scripture,  experience 
and  observation,  are  allowed  to  carry  any  convic- 
tion J  can  only  be  cherished,  maintained,  and  in- 
creased in  the  heart,  by  the  sense  and  apprehen- 
sion of  God's  predestinating  love  to  us  in  Christ 
Jesus.  Now  our  obedience  to  God  will  always 
hold  proportion  to  our  love.  If  the  one  be  re- 
laxed and  feeble,  the  other  cannot  be  alert  and 
vigorous.  And  electing  goodness  being  the 
very  life  and  soul  of  the  former ;  the  latter  evea 


18) 

• 

good  works,  must  flourish  or  decline  inproportion 
as  election  is  glorified  or  obscured.  Hence  arises  a 

Vllth  Argument  for  the  preaching  of  predes- 
tination :  namely,  that  by  it  we  may  be  excited  to 
the  practice  of  universal  godliness.  The  know- 
ledge of  God's  love  to  you  will  make  you  an  ar- 
dent lover  of  God  :  and  the  more  love  you  have 
to  God  the  more  will  you  excel  in  all  the  duties 
and  offices  of  love. — Add  to  this,  that  the  scrip- 
ture view  of  predestination  includes  the  means, 
as  well  as  the  end.  Christian  predestinarians  are 
for  keeping  together  what  God  hath  joined.  He 
who  is  for  attaining  the  end,  without  going  to  it 
through  the  means,  is  a  self-deluding  enthusiast. 
He,  on  the  other  hand,  who  carefully  and  con- 
scientiously uses  the  means  of  salvation  as  steps 
to  the  end,  is  the  true  Calvinist.  Now,  eternal 
life  being  that -to  which  the  elect  are  ultimately 
destined  j  faith  (the  effect  of  saving  grace,)  and 
sanctification  (the  effect  of  faith,)  are  blessings  to 
which  the  elect  are  intermediately  appointed. 
"  According  as  he  hath  chosen  us  in  him  before 
the  foundation  of  the  world,  that  we  should  be 
holy  and  without  blame  before  him  in  love," 
Eph.  i.  4.  "  We  are  his  workmanship,  created 
in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works,  which  God 
hath  before  ordained,  that  we  should  walk  in 
them,"  Eph.  ii.  10. — M  Knowing,  brethren  belo- 
ved, your  election  of  God  : — Ye  became  follow- 
ers of  us  and  of  the  Lord,"  1  Thess.  i.  4.  6. — 
u  God  hath  chosen  you  to  salvation  through 
sanctification  of  the  Spirit  and  belief  of  the  truth," 
2  Thess.  ii.  13. — Elect,  according  to  the  fore- 
knowledge [or  ancient  love]  of  God  the  Father, 
through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit  unto  obedi- 
ence,"  1  Pet.  i.  2. 

Nor  is  salvation  (the  appointed  end  of  elec- 
tion) at  all  the  less  secure  in  itself  (but  the  more 
16  * 


190 

so)  for  standing  necessarily  connected  with  the 
intervening  means  :  seeing  both  these  and  that 
are  inseparably  joined,  in  order  to  the  certain  ac- 
complishment of  that  through  these.  It  only 
de'monstrates,  that  without  regeneration  of  heart, 
and  purity  of  life,  the  elect  themselves  are  not 
led  to  heaven.  But  then  it  is  incontestable  from 
the  whole  current  of  scripture,  that  these  inter- 
mediate blessings  shall  most  infallibly  be  vouch- 
safed to  every  elect  person  in  virtue  of  God's 
absolute  covenant,  and  through  the  effectual 
agency  of  his  almighty  Spirit.  Internal  sanctifi- 
cation  constitutes  our  meetness  for  the  kingdom 
to  which  we  were  predestinated ;  and  a  course  of 
external  righteousness  is  one  of  the  grand  eviden- 
ces, by  which  Ave  make  our  election  sure  to  our 
own  present  comfort  and  apprehension  of  it.* 

VIII.  Unless  predestination  be  preached,  we 
shall  want  one  great  inducement  to  the  exercise 
of  brotherly  kindness  and  charity. 

When  a  converted  person  is  assured  on  one 
hand,  that  all  whom  God  hath  predestinated  to 
eternal  life,  shall  infallibly  enjoy  that  eternal  life 
to  which  they  were  chosen ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  when  he  discerns  the  signs  of  election,  not 
only  in  himself,  but  also  in  the  rest  of  his  fellow- 
believers,  and  concludes  from  thence  (as  in  a 
judgment  of  charity  he  ought,)  that  they  are  as 


*  1  Pet.  i.  10.  Give  diligence  to  make  your  calling  and 
election  fieSctiav,  undoubted;  that  is,  to  get  some  solid  and  in- 
contestable evidence  of  your  predestination  to  life — "B£fc«<(^, 
is  de  quo  fiducia  concipitur ;  is  de  quo  nobis  aliquid  certo  per- 
suademus.  Unde  apud  Thuc  3-$sQ<tt&  ttfit,  ralo  iroitjtrciv 
certa  fides  habetur  mihi,  hoc  focturum  me  esse. — Bf£a/#s, 
certo  explorato.  BcGxtxn.xtMemfa.cio;  Pr0  eomperto  habeo." 
Scap. — So,  £A*w?  [iiSxix  is  an  undoubting  hope,  2.  Cor.  i.  7- 
And  $tZcLioTte<&-  \xy<&  is  a  more  assured  and  unquestion- 
able word  of  prophecy,  2  Pet.  1. 19- 


191 

really  elected  as  himself,  how  must  his  heart 
glow  with  love  to  his  Christian  brethren  !  How 
feelingly  will  he  sympathize  with  them  in  their 
distresses  !  How  tenderly  will  he  bear  with  their 
infirmities  ?  How  readily  will  he  relieve  the  for- 
mer, and  how  easily  overlook  the  latter  ! — no- 
thing will  so  effectually  knit  together  the  hearts 
of  God's  people  in  time  as  the  belief  of  their 
having  been  written  by  name  in  one  book  of  life 
from  everlasting ;  and  the  unshaken  confidence 
of  their  future  exaltation  to  one  and  the  same 
state  of  glory  above,  will  occasion  the  strongest 
cement  of  affection  below.  This  was  possibly 
one  end  of  our  Saviour's  so  frequently  remind- 
ing his  apostles  of  their  election  :  namely,  that 
from  the  sense  of  such  an  unspeakable  blessing, 
in  which  they  were  all  equally  interested,  they 
might  learn  to  "  love  one  another  with  pure 
hearts  fervently ;"  and  cultivate  on  earth  that 
holy  friendship  which  they  well  knew  from  the 
immutability  of  God's  decrees  would  be  eternal- 
ly matured,  to  the  highest  perfection  and  refine- 
ment in  heaven.  St.  Paul  likewise  might  have 
some  respect  to  the  same  amiable  inference, 
when  treating  of  the  saints  collectively,  he  uses 
those  sweet  and  endearing  expressions,  He  hath 
chosen  us,  He  hath  predestinated  us,  &c.  that  be- 
lievers, considering  themselves  as  <rvnx*iK]«i}  or  co- 
elect  in  Christ,  might  be  led  to  love  each  other 
with  peculiar  intenseness,  as  the  spiritual  chil- 
dren of  one  electing  Father,  brethren  in  grace, 
and  joint-heirs  of  glory. — Did  the  regenerate  of 
the  present  age  but  practically  advert  to  the  ever- 
lasting nearness  in  which  they  stand  related  to 
each  other,  how  happy  would  be  the  effect ! 

Hence  it  appears,  that  since  the  preaching  of 
predestination  is  thus  evidently  calculated  to 
kindle  and  keep  alive  the  twofold  congenial  flame 


192 

of  love  to  God  and  love  to  man  :  it  must  by  ne- 
cessary consequence^conduce 

To  the  advancement  of  universal  obedience, 
and  to  the  performance  of  every  social  and  reli- 
gious duty  :*  which  alone,  was  there  nothing 
else  to  recommend  it,  would  be  a  sufficient  mo- 
tive to  the  public  delivery  of  that  important  doc- 
trine. 

Lastly,  without  a  due  sense  of  predestination, 
we  shall  want  the  surest  and  the  most  powerful 
inducement  to  patience,  resignation,  and  depend- 
ence on  God,  under  every  spiritual  and  temporal 
affliction. 

How  sweet  must  the  following  considerations 
be  to  the  distressed  believer  !  1.  There  most  cer- 
tainly exists  an  Almighty,  all-wise  and  infinitely 


*  Our  excellent  Bishop  Davenant  instances,  particularly  in 
the  great  religious  duty  of  prayer.  "  The  consideration  of 
election,"  says  this  learned  and  evangelical  prelate,  "  doth 
stir  up  the  faithful  to  constancy  in  prayer  :  for  having  learnt 
that  all  good  tending  to  salvation  is  prepared  for  them  out  of 
God's  good  pleasure,  they  are  hereby  encouraged  to  call  for, 
and  as  it  were,  to  draw  down  from  heaven  by  their  prayers 
those  good  things  which  from  eternity  were  ordained  for  the 
elect. — Moreover,  the  same  spirit  of  adoption,  who  beareth 
witness  to  our  spirit  that  we  are  God's  chosen  children,  is  also 
the  spirit  of  prayer  and  supplication,  and  enflameth  our  hearts 
to  call  daily  upon  our  heavenly  Father.  Those,  therefore, 
who,  from  the  certainty  of  predestination  do  pretend  that  the 
duty  of  prayer  is  superfluous,  do  plainly  show  that  they  are 
so  far  from  having  any  certainty  of  their  predestination,  that 
they  have  not  the  least  sense  thereof. — To  be  slack  and  slug- 
gish in  prayer  is  not  the  property  of  those  who,  by  the  testi- 
mony of  God's  Spirit,  have  got  assurance  of  their  election  ; 
but  rather  of  such  a9  have  either  none  or  very  small  apprehen- 
sion thereof.  For  as  soon  as  any  one  by  believing  doth  con- 
ceive himself  to  be  one  of  God's  elect  children,  he  earnestly 
desireth  to  procure  unto  himself  by  prayer  those  good  things 
which  he  believeth  that  God  prepared  for  his  children  be- 
fore the  founda  ion  of  the  world."  Bp.  Davenant's  Animad- 
versions on  an  Arminian  treatise,  entitled  God's  Love  to  Mali- 
kind.  p.  526,  &  seq. 


193 

gracious  God. — 2.  He  has  given  me  in  times 
past,  and  is  giving  me  at  present,  (if  I  had  but 
eyes  to  see  it,)  many  and  signal  intimations  of 
his  love  to  me,  both  in  a  way  of  providence  and 
grace. — 3.  This  love  of  his  is  immutable  :  he 
never  repents  of  it,  nor  withdraws  it. — 4.  What- 
ever comes  to  pass  in  time  is  the  result  of  his 
will  from  everlasting.— Consequently,  5.  My  af- 
flictions were  a  part  of  his  original  plan,  and  are 
all  ordered  in  number,  weight  and  measure. — 6. 
The  very  hairs  of  my  head  are  every  one  count- 
ed by  him  :  nor  can  a  single  hair  fall  to  the 
ground  but  in  consequence  of  his  determination. 
Hence,  7.  My  distresses  are  not  the  result  of 
chance,  accident,  or  a  fortuitious  combination  of 
circumstances  :  but,  8.  The  providential  accom- 
plishment of  God's  purpose ;  and  9.  Designed 
to  answer  some  wise  and  gracious  ends.  Nor, 
10.  shall  any  affliction  continue  a  moment  longer 
than  God  sees  meet.  11.  He  who  brought  me 
to  it,  has  promised  to  support  me  under  it,  and 
to  carry  me  through  it.  12.  All  shall  most  as- 
suredly work  together  for  his  glory  and  my  good. 
Therefore,  13.  "The  cup  which  my  heavenly 
Father  hath  given  me  to  drink,  shall  I  not  drink 
it  ?"  Yes  :  I  will  in  the  strength  he  imparts  even 
rejoice  in  tribulation  :  and  using  the  means  of 
possible  redress  which  he  hath,  or  may  hereafter 
put  into  my  hands,  I  will  commit  myself  and  the 
event  to  him,  whose  purpose  cannot  be  over- 
thrown, whose  plan  cannot  be  disconcerted,  and 
who,  whether  I  am  resigned  or  not,  will  still  go 
on  to  work  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own 
will.* 


*  The  learned  Llpsius  thus  writes  to  an  unmarried  friend, 
who  appears  to  have  referred  himself  to  his  judgment  and 
direction ;  Sive  uxor  ducitur,  sive  omittitur,  &c.    Whether 


194 

Above  all,  when  the  suffering  Christian  takes 
his  election  into  the  account,  and  knows  that 
he  was  by  an  eternal  and  immutable  act  of  God 
appointed  to  obtain  salvation  through  our  Lord 


you  marry  or  live  single,  you  will  still  have  something1  or 
other  to  molest  you  :  nor  does  the  whole  course  of  man's 
present  sublunary  life  afford  him  a  single  draught  of  joy, 
without  a  mixture  of  wormwood  in  the  cup.  This  is  the  uni- 
versal and  immutable  law,  which  to  resist,  were  no  less  vain 
than  sinful  and  rebellious.  As  the  wrestlers  of  old  had  their 
respective  antagonists  assigned  them,  not  by  their  own  choice, 
but  by  necessary  lot ;  in  like  manner,  each  of  vhe  human 
race  has  his  peculiar  destiny  allotted  to  him  by  Providence, 
To  conquer  this  is  to  endure  it.  All  our  strength  in  this 
warfare  is  to  undergo  the  intvitable  pressure.  It  is  victory 
to  yield  ourselves  to  faie."  Lips  Epist  miscell.  cent.  1.  ep- 
43.  opor.  torn.  2.  p.  54.  Edit.  Vesaliens.  1675. 

About  two  years  after,  this  celebrated  Christian  Seneca 
wrote  as  follows  to  the  same  person,  (Theodore  Leewius) 
who  had  married  and  just  lost  his  wife  in  childbed  ;  Jam 
fatum  quid  ?  Jleterna,  an  teterno,  in  xternum,  Dei  Lex :  what 
is  fate  ?  God's  everlasting  ordinance  :  an  ordinance  which  he 
settled  in  eternity,  and  for  eternity  :  an  ordinance  which  he 
can  never  repeal,  disannul,  or  set  aside,  either  in  whole  or  in 
part.  Now  if  this  his  decree  be  eternal,  a  retro  and  immove- 
able, quoad  futurum :  why  does  foolish  man  struggle  and 
fight  against  that  which  must  be  ?  Especially,  seeing  fate  is 
thus  the  offspring  of  God,  why  does  impious  man  murmur 
and  complain  ?  you  cannot  justly  find  fault  with  any  thing  de- 
termined or  done  by  him  ;  as  though  it  were  evil  or  severe  : 
for  he  is  all  goodness  and  benevolence.  Was  you  to  define  his 
nature,  you  could  not  do  it  more  suitably  than  in  those 
terms. — Is  therefore  your  wife  dead  ?  debuit :  it  is  right  she 
should  be  so.  But  was  it  right  that  she  should  die,  and  at 
that  very  time,  and  by  that  very  kind  of  death  !  Most  cer- 
tainly. Lex  ita  lata  ;  the  decree  so  ordained  it.  The  rest* 
less  acumen  of  the  human  mind  may  sift  and  canvass  the  ap- 
pointments of  fate,  but  cannot  alter  them.  Were  we  truly 
wise  we  should  be  implicitly  submissive,  and  endure  with 
willingness  what  we  must  endure,  whether  we  be  willing  or 
not.  A  due  sense  of  our  inability  to  reverse  the  disposals 
of  Providence,  and  the  consequent  vanity  of  resisting  them, 
would  administer  solid  repose  to  our  minds,  and  sheathe,  if 
not  remove  the  anguish  of  affliction.  And  why  should  we 
even  wish  to  resist  ?  Fate's  supreme  ordainer  is  not  only  the 


195 

Jesus  Christ ;  that,  of  course,  he  hath  a  city  pre- 
pared for  him  above,  a  building  of  God,  an 
house  not  made  with  hands,  but  eternal  in  the 
heavens  ;  and  that  the  heaviest  sufferings  of  the 
present  life  are  "  not  worthy  to  be  compared 
with  the  glory  which  shall  be  revealed  in  the 
saints ; — what  adversity  can  possibly  befall  us, 
which  the  assured  hope  of  blessings  like  these 
will  not  infinitely  overbalance  ? 

"  A  comfort  so  divine, 
May  trials  well  endure." 
However  keenly  afflictions  might  wound  us  on 
their  first  access  ;  yet,  under  the  impression  of 
such  animating  views,  we  should  quickly  come  to 
ourselves  again,  and  the  arrows  of  tribulation 
would  in  a  great  measure  become  pointless. — 
Christians  want  nothing  but  absolute  resignation 
to  render  them  perfectly  happy  in  every  possible 
circumstance  :  and  absolute  resignation  can  only 
flow  from  an  absolute  belief,  and  an  absolute 
acquiescence  in  God's  absolute  providence, 
founded  on  absolute  predestination. — The  apos- 
tle himself  draws  these  conclusions  to  our  hand, 
in  Rom.  viii.  where,  after  having  laid  down  as 
most  undoubted  axioms,  the  eternity  and  immu- 
tability of  God's  purposes  ;  he  thus  winds  up  the 
whole  :  "  What  shall  we  say  then  to  these  things, 
if  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  ? — who 


all-wise  God,  but  an  all-gracious  Father.  Embrace  every 
event  as  good  and  prosperous,  though  it  may  for  the  present 
carry  an  aspect  of  the  reverse.  Think  you  not  that  lie  loves 
and  careth  for  us  more  and  better  than  we  for  ourselves. 
But  as  the  tenderest  parent  below  doth  oftentimes  cross  the 
inclinations  of  his  children,  with  a  view  to  do  them  good ;  and 
obliges  them  both  to  do  and  to  undergo  many  things  against 
the  bent  of  their  wills,  so  does  the  great  Parent  of  all."  Ibid. 
epist.  61.  p.  82- 


196 

shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ  ?  shall 
tribulation,  or  distress,  or  persecution,  or  famine, 
or  nakedness,  or  peril,  or  sword  ? — nay  :  in  all 
these  things  we  are  more  than  conquerors, 
through  him  that  loved  us. 

Such,  therefore,  among  others,  being  the  uses, 
that  arise  from  the  faithful  preaching,  and  the  cor- 
dial reception  of  predestination  ;  may  we  venture 
to  affirm,  with  Luther,  hac  ignorata  doctrina, 
neque  /idem,  neque  ullum  Dei  cultum,  consistere 
posse  f  that  u  Our  faith,  and  all  right  worship  of 
God,  depend  in  no  small  degree,  upon  our  know- 
ledge of  that  doctrine."* 

The  excellent  Melancthon,  in  his  first  common 
places  (which  received  the  sanction  of  Luther's 
express  approbation,)  does,  in  the  first  chapter, 
which  treats  professedly  of  free  will  and  pre- 
destination, set  out  with  clearing  and  establishing 
the  doctrine  of  God's  decrees  ;  and  then  pro- 
ceeds to  point  out  the  necessity,  and  manifold 
usefulness  of  asserting  and  believing  it.  He  even 
goes  so  far  as  to  affirm  roundly,  that  M  A  right 
fear  of  God,  and  a  true  confidence  in  him,  can 
be  learned  more  assuredly,  from  no  other  source 
than  from  the  doctrine  of  predestination."  But, 
Melancthorts  judgment  of  these  matters  will 
best  appear  from  the  whole  passage ;  which  the 
reader  will  find  in  the  book  and  chapter  just  re- 
ferred to. 

"  Divina  Predestination  says  he,  "  Liberta- 
tem  homini  adimit :  Divine  predestination  quite 
strips  man  of  his  boasted  liberty  :  for,  all  things 
come  to  pass  according  to  God's  fore-appoint- 
ment, even  the  internal  thoughts  of  all  creatures, 


De  Serv.  Abitr.  cap.  20. 


197 

no  less  than  their  external  works.  Therefore,^ 
Eph.  i.  the  apostle  gives  us  to  understand,  that 
God  "  performeth  all  things  according  to  the 
counsel  of  his  own  will."  And  our  Lord  him- 
self asks,  Mat.  x.  u  Are  not  two  sparrows  sold 
for  a  farthing  ?  yet  one  of  them  falleth  not  to  the 
ground,  without  your  Father."  Pray,  what  can 
be  more  full  to  the  point,  than  such  a  declaration  ? 
So  Solomon,  Prov.  xvi.  "  The  Lord  hath  made 
all  things  for  himself;  yea,  even  the  wicked  for  the 
day  of  evil."  And  in  the  xxth  chapter,  u  Man's 
goings  are  of  the  Lord :  how  then  can  a  man  un- 
derstand his  own  way  ?"  To  which  the  prophet 
Jeremiah  does  also  set  his  seal,  saying,  chapter 
x.  "  O  Lord,  I  know  that  the  way  of  man  is  not 
in  himself;  it  is  not  in  man  that  walketh  to  direct 
his  own  steps."  The  historical  part  of  scrip- 
ture teaches  us  the  same  great  truth.  So,  Gen. 
xv.  we  read  that  the  iniquity  of  the  Amorites  was 
not  yet  full.  In  1  Sam.  ii.  we  are  told,  Eli's  sons 
hearkened  not  to  his  reproof,  because  the  Lord 
loonld  slay  them.  What  could  bear  a  stronger 
resemblance  to  change  and  accident  than  Saul's 
calling  upon  Samuel,'  only  with  a  view  to  seek  out 
his  father's  asses  ?  (1  Sam.  ix.)  yet,  the  visit 
was  foreordained  of  God,  and  designed  to  an- 
swer a  purpose  little  thought  of  by  Saul,  1  Sam. 
ix.  15,  16.  [See  also  a  most  remarkable  chain 
of  predestinated  events  in  reference  to  Saul,  and 
foretold  by  the  prophet,  1  Sam.  x.  2,  8.]  "  In 
pursuance  of  the  divine  preordination,  there  went 
with  Suul  a  band  of  men,  "  whose  hearts  God  had 
touched,"  1  Sam.  x.  26.— The  harshness  of  king 
Rehoboam's  answer  to  the  ten  tribes,  and  the  sub- 
sequent revolt  of  those  tribes  from  his  dominion, 
are  by  the  sacred  historian  expressly  ascribed  to 
God's  decree  :  '*  wherefore,  the  king  hearkened 
not  unto  the  people  :  for  the  cause  was  from  the 
17 


198 

Lord,  that  he  might  perform  his  saying  which  the 
Lord  spake  by  Ahijah  the  Shilonite,  unto  Jero- 
boam the  son  of  Nebat,"  I  Kings  xii.  15. — 
What  is  the  drift  of  the  apostle  Paul,  in  the  9th 
and  10th  of  Romans,  quam  ut  omnia,  qua 
flint,  in  destinationem  divinam  referat  ?  but  to 
resolve  all  things  that  come  to  pass  into  God's  de- 
stination ?  the  judgment  of  the  flesh,  or  of  mere 
unregenerate  reason,  usually  starts  back  from  this 
truth  with  horror  :  but  on  the  contrary,  the  judg- 
ment of  a  spiritual  man  will  embrace  it  with  af- 
fection. Neque  enim  vel  timorem  del,  vel  jiduci- 
am  in  deum,  certius  aliunde  disces,  quam  ubi  im- 
bueris  animum  hac  de  predestinatione  se?itentia : 
u  You  will  not  learn  either  the  fear  of  -God  or 
affiance  in  him  from  a  surer  source  than  from 
getting  your  mind  deeply  tinctured  and  seasoned 
with  this  doctrine  of  predestination."  Does  not 
Solomon  in  the  book  of  Proverbs,  inculcate  it 
throughout ;  and  justly  :  for  how  else  could  he 
direct  men  to  fear  God  and  trust  in  him  ?  the  same 
he  does  in  the  book  of  Ecclesiastes  :  nor  had  any 
thing  so  powerful  a  tendency  to  repress  the  pride 
of  man's  encroaching  reason,  and  to  lower  the  swel- 
ling conceit  of  his  supposed  discretion  as  the  firm 
belief  quod  a  Deojiunt  omnia,  that  all  things  are 
from  God.  What  invincible  comfort  did  Christ  im- 
part to  his  disciples  in  assuring  them  that  "  their 
very  hairs  were  all  numbered"  by  the  Creator  ?  Is 
there  then  (may  any  objector  say,)  no  such  thing 
as  contingency  ?  no  such  thing  as  chance,  or  for- 
tune ? — No.  Omnia  necessario  evenire  scriptures 
docent ;  the  doctrine  of  scripture  is,  that  all  tilings 
come  to  pass  necessarily.  Be  it  so,  that  to  you 
some  events  seem  to  happen  contingently ;  you 
nevertheless  must  not  be  run  away  with  by  the 
suggestions  of  your  own  narrow-sighted  reason. 
Solomon  himself,  the  wisest  of  men,  was  so  deep- 


109 

\y  versed  in  the  doctrine  of  inscrutable  predesti- 
nation as  to  leave  this  humbling  maxim  on  re- 
cord ;  *'  When  I  applied  my  heart  to  know  wis- 
dom, and  to  see  the  business  that  is  done  upon 
the  earth  ;  then  I  beheld  all  the  work  of  God,  that 
a  man  cannot  find  out  the  work  that  is  done  un- 
der the  sun ;  because,  though  a  man  labour  to 
seek  it  out,  yet  he  shall  not  find  ;  yea,  further, 
though  a  wise  man  think  to  know  it,  yet  shall  he 
not  be  able  to  find  it,"  Eccles.  viii.  16,  17* 

Melancthon  prosecutes  the  argument  much  far- 
ther ;  but  this  may  suffice  for  a  specimen.  And 
it  is  not  unworthy  of  notice,  that  Luther  so  highly 
approved  of  Melancthon's  performance,  and  es- 
pecially of  the  first  chapter  (from  whence  the 
above  extract  is  given  ;)  that  he  [Luther]  thus 
writes  of  it  in  his  epistle  to  Erasmus,  prefixed  to 
his  bookDe  Serv.  Arb.  "  That  it  was  worthy  of 
everlasting  duration,  and  to  be  received  into,  the 
ecclesiastical  canon."  Let  it  likewise  be  observ- 
ed, that  Melancthon  never  to  the  very  last  re- 
tracted a  word  of  what  he  there  delivers  ;  which 
a  person  of  his  piety  and  integrity  would  most 
certainly  have  done,  had  he  afterwards  (as  some 
have  artfully  and  falsely  insinuated)  found  rea- 
son to  change  his  judgment  on  these  heads. 


FIJMS. 


AN 

APPENDIX 

CONCERNING 

THE   FATE    OF    THE    ANCIENTS. 

FROM  THE  LATIN  OF  JUSTUS  LIPSIUS.* 

Jc  ATE,  (says  Apuleius)  according  to  Plato,  is 
that,  "  Per  quod,  inevitabiles  cogitationes  Dei 
atque  incepta  complentur ;"  whereby  the  purpo- 
ses and  designs  of  God  are  accomplished.  Hence, 
the  Platonics  considered  providence  under  a 
three-fold  distinction  ;  1.  The  providentia  prima, 
or  that  which  gave  birth  to  all  effects  ;  and  is  de- 
iined  by  them  to  be  m  newl*  ©«»  ve^o-<5,  the  in- 
tention, or  zvill  of  the  Supreme  God.  2.  The 
providentia  secunda,  or  actual  agency  of  the  se- 
condary or  inferior  beings,  who  were  supposed 
to  pervade  the  heavens,  and  from  thence  by  their 
influence,  to  regulate  and  dispose  of  all  subluna- 
ry things ;  and  especially  to  prevent  the  extinc- 
tion of  any  one  species  below.  3.  The  provi- 
dentia tertia,  supposed  to  be  exerted  by  the  Genii, 
whose  office  it  was  to  exercise  a  particular  care 
over  mankind,  to  guard  our  persons,  and  direct 
our  actions. 

But  the  stoical  view  of  providence,  or   fate, 
was  abundantly  more  simple,  and  required  no 


*  Vide  Lipsii  Physiolojj.  Stoic.  Lib.  1.  Dissert,  xii. 


201 

such  nicety  of  distinction.  These  philosophers 
did  at  once  derive  all  the  chain  of  causes  and  ef- 
fects from  their  true  and  undoubted  source, 
the  will  of  the  one  living  and  true  God. 
Hence,  with  these  sages,  the  words  Deity,  Fate, 
Providence,  were,  frequently  reciprocated,  as 
terms  synonymous.  Thus  Seneca,  speaking  of 
God  ;  u  Will  you  call  him  fate  P  You  will  call 
him  rightly ;  for  all  things  are  suspended  on 
him.  Himself  is  causa  causarum,  the  cause  of 
causes  beside."  The  laws  of  the  universe  are 
from  God ;  whence  the  same  philosopher  else- 
where observes,  Omnia  certa  et  in  ceternum 
dicta  lege  decurrere  ;  All  things  go  on  according 
to  a  certain  rule  or  decree  ordained  for  ever ; 
meaning  in  the  law  of  fate.  So  Cicero  :  "  All 
things  come  to  pass  according  to  the  sovereignty 
of  the  eternal  law."  And  Pindar  probably  had 
an  eye  to  this,  where  he  says,  No^toy  -xmlm  ($tt<n- 
kex,  Svxto/v  re  x.xi  «&*v<*7«v,  ctvxt.  That  the  law  ru- 
leth  all,  whether  gods  or  mortals.  Manlius  most 
certainly  had  : 

Scd  nihil  In  tota  magls  est  mlrablle  mole. 

Quam  Ratio,  &  certls  quod  Leglbus  omnia  parent. 
Where,  by  Ratio,  is  evidently  meant  the  decree- 
ing mind  of  God ;  and,  by  Leges,  is  meant  fate, 
or  that  series  of  causes  and  effects  which  is  the 
offspring  of  his  decree. 

Homer  cannot  begin  his  Iliad  without  assert- 
ing this  grand  truth:  A<©-  <J"  tjtkukh  $sM.  The 
counsel  or  decree  of  Jupiter  was  fulfilled.  The 
divine  poet  sets  out  on  this  exalted  principle  ;  he 
puts  it  in  the  front  of  the  noblest  poem  in  the 
world,  as  a  testimony  both  of  his  wisdom  and  his 
faith.  It  was  as  if  he  had  said,  "  I  shall  sing  of 
numberless  events,  equally  grand,  entertaining, 
and  important ;  but  I  cannot  begin  to  unfold 
them  without  laying  down  this,  as  a  first,  funda- 
17  * 


202 

mental  axiom,  that,  though  brought  to  pass  by  the 
instrumental  agency  of  men,  they  were  the  fruit 
of  God's  determining  will,  and  of  his  all-direct- 
ing providence." 

Neither  are  those  minuter  events,  which  seem- 
ingly are  the  result  of  chance,  excluded  from  this 
law.  Even  these  do  not  happen,  but  come  to  pass 
in  a  regular  order  of  succession,  and  at  their  due 
period  of  time.  u  Causa  pendet  ex  causa  :  pri- 
vata  ac  publica  lo7igus  ordo  rerum  trahit"  says 
Seneca ;  "  Cause  proceeds  from  cause  :  the  long 
train  of  things  draws  with  it  all  events,  both 
public  and  private."  Excellent  is  that  of  Sopho- 
cles ;  (Aj.  Flagell.) 

T.ra  f4£»  av  kcc(  rxvlx,  text  rx  ttxv'j'  xet, 
<f>x<rx,otf4,'  xv  xv6(>co7roi(rt  [Mi%xvoe.v  €>£&<;• 
'Orct>  Jt  fM)  rxS~'  ertv  it  yvufAYi  Qi^x, 
¥.£!*&•  skcivx  ?i%y{\a.  x-utu  rxfo. 

i.  e.  "  I  am  firmly  of  opinion,  that  all  these 
things,  and  whatever  else  befall  us,  are  in  conse- 
quence of  the  divine  purpose  :  Whoso  thinks 
otherwise  is  at  liberty  to  follow  his  own  judg- 
ment, but  this  will  ever  be  mine." 

The  Long-us  ordo  rerum,  mentioned  by  Sene- 
ca, is  what  he  elsewhere  styles,  Causarum  im- 
plexa  series,  or  a  perpetual  implication  of  causes. 
This,  according  to  Laertius,  was  called  by  the 
Stoics,  xtrix  Tm  ovlav  it^n-en,  an  involved,  or  con- 
catenate causuality  of  whatever  has  any  exist- 
ence :  for,  etei*.^-  is  a  chain,  or  implicate  connec- 
tion. Agreeably  to  this  idea,  Chrysippus  gives 
the    following  definition  of  fate  :   'Etf-ixey-nyv  uixt, 

tyvrixw  <rvv\x\iv  ruv  oXa>vt  f|  xt^ia,  rui  ingeM  too;  t/f^a/s 
t7r-i,y.xXa6iiilui ,  Xfi.clxSsXa  text  xTrxfxQxla  xcrr,<;  t/i<;toixv]*!$ 
o^rAaxj;?.  "  Fate  is  that  natural,  established  or- 
der and  constitution  of  all  things  from  everlast- 
ing, whereby  they   mutually  follow  upon  each 


203 

other,  in  consequence  of  an  immutable  and  per- 
petual complication." 

Let  us  examine  this  celebrated  definition  of 
fate.  1.  He  calls  it  natural  e-vvlx%ir  meaning  by 
nature,  the  great  Natura  Prima,  or  God  :  for 
by  some  Stoics,  God  and  nature  are  used  promis- 
cuously. But,  because  the  Deity  must  be  sup- 
posed both  to  decree  and  to  act  with  wisdom,  in- 
telligence, and  design,  fate  is  sometimes  men- 
tioned by  them  under  the  name  of  Aoy<&,  or  rea- 
son*    Thus   they  define  fate,    (Laert  in  Zen. J 

tifixgf&svin),    Xoyov,   x.x$  ov   o   xoa-fiL®*'  o^it\xy{]xi'     to    be 

that  supreme  "  reason,  whereby  the  world  is 
governed  and  directed,"  or  more  minutely,  thus ; 
Aoyev,  kx6'  ov  <?x  A«v  yeyovolx  yeyovc,  rx  £t  Xtvofjuvx 
yiverxi,   rx  S'e   yev*icro^Levx  ytvijc-erxt.      **  That    reason, 

whereby  the  things  that  have  been,  were  ;  the 
things  that  now  are,  have  a  present  existence ; 
and  the  things  that  are  to  be  shall  be.  Reason, 
you  see,  or  wisdom,  in  the  Deity,  is  an  antece- 
dent cause,  from  whence  both  providence  and  in- 
ferior nature  are  derived.  It  is  added  in  Stobceus, 
fieTxXxpGxvet  ft  T8  Aoc-y,  tjsv  xX*)6hxv,  tjjv  xirixv,  tjj» 
<pvTiv,  rtj*  xvx<rx,r,v.  i.  e.  that  Chrysippus  some- 
times varies  his  terms  ;  and,  instead  of  the  word 
reason,  substitutes  the  words  truth',  cause,  na- 
ture, necessity  :  intimating,  that  fate  is  the  true, 
natural,  necessary  cause  of  the  things  that  are, 
and  of  the  manner  in  which  they  are.  2.  This 
fate  is  said  to  be  *g  xiha,  from  everlasting.  Nor 
improperly :  since  the  constitution  of  things  was 
settled  and  fixed  in  the  divine  mind  (where  they 
had  a  sort  of  ideal  existence)  previous  to  their  ac- 
tual creation,  and  therefore  considered  as  certainly 
future,  in  his  decree,  may  be  said  to  have  been  in 
some  sense  co-eternal  with  himself.  3.  The  immu- 
table and  perpetual  complication,  mentioned  in  the 
definition,  means  no  more  than  that  reciprocal  in- 


204 

volution  of  causes  and  effects  from  God  down- 
wards, by  which  things  and  events,  positis  omni- 
bus ponendis,  are  necessarily  produced,  accord- 
ing to  the  plan  which  infinite  wisdom  designed 
from  the  beginning.  God,  the  jirst  cause,  hath 
given  being  and  activity  to  an  immense  number 
of  secondary  subaltern  causes  ;  which  are  so  inse- 
parably linked  and  interwoven  with  their  re- 
spective effects  (a  connexion  truly  admirable, 
and  not  to  be  comprehended  by  man  in  his  pre- 
sent state,)  that  those  things  which  do  in  reality 
come  to  pass  necessarily,  and  by  inevitable  des- 
tiny seem,  to  the  superficial  observer,  to  come  to 
pass  in  the  common  course  of  nature,  or  by  vir- 
tue of  human  reasoning  and  freedom.  This  is 
that  inscrutable  method  of  divine  wisdom,  u  A 
qua"  (says  St.  Austin)  "  est  omnis  modus,  om- 
nis  species,  omnis  ordo,  mensura,  numerus,  pon- 
dus  ;  a  qua  sunt  semina  formarum,  formae  semi- 
num,  motus  seminum  atque  formarum." 

Necessity  is  the  consequence  of  fate.  So  Tris- 
megistUS  !  Uxvlx  fo  yurvtrcu  tyvret  x.ott  iif4.Kgp,cv'/i,  kxi  hk 
tri  Tefl-©-  SBY,fju%^  7rgov6tct$.  7rgov6ic&  ft  eri,  cLv]oTiXY,e,  Aor^> 
m  e7ragxviii   Qsa.     frvo  $t  Tifja  etvloQvets  $vvxf*.tt$,    ecyctTy^ 

y.cct  ii[t.oet<.<vi).  i.  e.  "  All  things  are  brought  about 
by  nature  and  by  fate  :  neither  is  any  place  void 
of  providence.  Now  providence  is  the  self-perfect 
reason  of  the  super-celestial  God ;  from  which 
reason  of  his  issue  two  native  powers,  necessity 
and  fate."  Thus,  in  the  judgment  of  the  wiser 
Heathens,  effects  were  to  be  traced  up  to  their 
producing-  causes  ;  those  producing  causes  were 
to  be  farther  traced  up  to  the  still  higher  causes, 
by  which  they  were  produced ;  and  those  higher 
causes,  to  God,  the  cause  of  them.  Persons, 
things,  circumstances,  events,  and  consequences, 
are  the  effects  of  necessitij :  Necessity  is  the 
daughter  of  fate  :  Fate  is  the  offspring  of  God's 


205 

infinite  wisdom  and  sovereign  will.  Thus,  all 
things  are  ultimately  resolved  into  their  great 
primary  cause  ;  by  whom  the  chain  was  original- 
ly let  down  from  heaven,  and  on  whom  every 
link  depends. 

It  must  be  owned,  that  all  the  fatalists  of  anti- 
quity, (particularly  among  the  Stoics)  did  not  con- 
stantly express  themselves  with  due  precision.  A 
Christian,  who  is  savingly  taught  by  the  word  and 
Spirit  of  v.<od,  must  be  pained  and  disgusted,  not 
to  say,  shocked,  when  he  reads  such  an  assertion 

as    TV  7T£5r^4»/K.£»j}»  /Mtgxv  a^vex/ov  e?t  xToQvret*  xxi  &ia>. 

God  himself  cannot  possibly  avoid  his  destiny, 
(Herodot.  1.)  or  that  of  the  poet  Philemon: 

AaXai  {Zxtrt&ca*  £<o-<v,  ci  fixrtteii;  ©£»», 

Common  men  are  servants  to  kings  ;  kings  are 
servants  to  the  gods;  and  God  is  a  servant  to  ne- 
cessity. So  Seneca  :  "  Eadem  necessitas  &  Deos 
alligat ;  irrevocabilis  Divina  pariter  atque  huma- 
na  cursus  vehit.  Ille  ipse,  omnium  conditor  ac 
rector,  scripsit  quidem  fata,  sed  saquitur.  Sem- 
per paret :  Semel  jussiti"  The  self-same  neces- 
sity binds  the  gods  themselves.  All  things,  di- 
vine as  well  as  human,  are  carried  forward  by 
one  identical  and  overpowering  rapidity.  The 
supreme  Author  and  Governor  of  the  universe 
hath  indeed  written  and  ordained  the  fates ;  but 
having  once  ordained  them,  he  ever  after  obeys 
them.  He  commanded  them  at  first,  for  once  ;  but 
his  conformity  to  them  is  perpetual.  This  is,  with- 
out doubt,  very  irreverently,  and  very  incau- 
tiously expressed. — Whence  it  has  been  common 
with  many  Christian  writers  to  tax  the  Stoics  with 
setting  up  a  jirst  cause  superior  to  God  himself, 
and  on  which  he  is  dependent. 


206 

But,  I  apprehend,  these  philosophers  meant  in 
reality  no  such  thing.  All  they  designed  to  in- 
culcate was,  That  the  will  of  God  and  his  decrees 
are  Unchangeable :  that  there  can  be  no  altera- 
tion in  the  divine  intention  ;  no  new  act  arise  in 
his  mind :  no  reversion  of  his  eternal  plan ;  all 
being  founded  in  adorable  sovereignty  ;  ordered 
by  infallible  zvisdom;  ratified  by  omnipotence  ; 
and  cemented  with  immutability.     Thus  Lucan  : 

Finxis  in  oeternum  causas  ;  qua  cuncta  coercet, 

Se  quoque  lege  tenens. 

And  this,  not  through  any  imbecility  in  God, 
or  as  if  he  was  subject  to  fate,  of  which  (on  the 
contrary)  himself  was  the  ordainer;  but  because  it 
is  his  pleasure  to  abide  by  his  own  decree.  For,  as 
Seneca  observes,  "  Imminutio  majestatis  sit,  and 
confessio  erroris,  mutanda  fecissa :  Necesse  est  et 
eadem  placere,  cui  nisi  optima  placere  non  pos- 
sunt:"  "  It  would  detract  from  the  greatness  of 
God,  and  look  as  if  he  acknowledged  himself  liable 
to  mistakes,  was  he  lu  make  changeable  decrees  : 
his  pleasure  must  necessarily  be  always  the  same  : 
seeing  that  only  which  is  best,  can  at  any  time, 
please  an  all-perfect  being,  a  good  man  (adds  this 
philosopher)  is  under  a  kind  of  pleaoing  necessity 
to  do  good ;  and,  if  he  did  not  do  it,  he  could 
not  be  a  good  man." 

"  Magnum  hoc  argumentum  est  firmae  volun- 
tatis, ne  mutare  quidem  posse  :"  "  It  is  a  striking 
proof  of  a  magnanimous  will,  to  be  absolutely 
incapable  of  changing."  And  such  is  the  will 
of  God,  it  never  fluctuates  nor  varies.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  was  he  susceptible  of  change, 
could  he  through  the  intervention  of  anv  inferi- 
or cause,  or  by  some  untoward  combination  of 
external  circumstances,  be  induced  to  recede 
from  his  purpose,  and  alter  his  plan,  it  would  be 
a  most  incontestable  mark  of  weakness  and  dc- 


207 

£>endence  :  the  force  of  which  argument  made 
Seneca,  though  a  heathen,  cry  out  "  Non  exter- 
na Deos  cogunt ;  sed  sua  illis  in  legem  seterna 
voluntas  est ;"  "  Outward  things  cannot  compel 
the  Gods  ;  but  their  own  eternal  will  is  a  law  to 
themselves."  It  may  be  objected,  that  this 
seems  to  infer,  as  if  the  Deity  was  still  under 
some  kind  of  restraint  :  By  no  means.  Let  Se- 
neca obviate  this  cavil,  as  he  effectually  does  in 
these  admirable  words  :  "  Nee  Deus  ab  hoc  mi- 
nus liber  aut  potens  est ;  Ipse  enim  est  necessitas 
sua :"  God  is  not  hereby,  either  less  free,  or 
less  powerful ;  for  he  himself  is  his  own  neces- 
sity." 

On  the  whole,  it  is  evident  that  when  the  Sto- 
ics speak,  even  in  the  strongest  terms,  of  the  ob- 
ligation of  fate  on  God  himself,  they  may  and 
ought  to  be  understood  in  a  sense  worthy  of  the 
adorable  uncreated  Majesty.  In  thus  interpret- 
ing the  doctrine  of  fate,  as  taught  by  the  genuine 
philosophers  of  the  Portico,  1  have  the  great  St. 
Austin  on  my  side ;  who,  after  canvassing,  and 
justly  rejecting  the  bastard,  or  astrological  fate; 
thus  goes  on  :  "  At  qui  omnium  connectionem 
seriemque  causarum,  qua  fit  omne  quod  fit,  fatiy 
nomine  appellant ;  non  multum  cum  eis,  de  ver- 
bi  controversia,  certandum  atque  laborandam  est : 
quandoquidem  ipsum  causarum  ordinem,  and 
quandam  connectionem,  summi  Dei  tribuunt 
voluntatis  i.  e.  "  But  for  those  philosophers, 
[meaning  the  Stoics]  who,  by  the  word  fate, 
mean  that  regular  chain  and  series  of  causes, 
to  which  all  things  that  come  to  pass  owe 
their  immediate  existence  :  we  will  not  earnestly 
contend  with  these  persons  about  a  mere  term, 
and  we  the  rather  acquiesce  in  their  manner  of 
expression,  because  they  carefully  ascribe  this 


208 

fixed  succession  of  things,  and  this  mutual  con- 
catenation of  causes  and  effects,  to  the  will  of  the 
supreme  God."  Austin  adds  many  observations 
of.  the  same  import ;  and  proves  from  Seneca 
himself,  as  rigid  a  Stoic  as  any,  that  this  was  the 
doctrine,  and  the  meaning  of  his  philosophic 
brethren. 


A 

CAVEAT 

AGAINST  UNSOUND  DOCTRINES : 

BEING 
THE  SUBSTANCE  OF 

A  SERMON 

PREACHED  IN  THE  PARISH  CHURCH 

OF 

ST.  ANN,  BLACKFRYARS; 

ON  SUNDAY,  APRIL  20,    1770. 

-<^<W»— — 

BY  AUGUSTUS  TOPLADY,  A.  B. 

VICAR  OF  BROAD-HEMBURV,  DEVON. 

— -vsfcfcs>— — 


Seeing,  then,  that  we  have  such  hope,  we  use  great  plainness 
of  speech... .2  Cor.  Hi.  12. 


NEW-YORK:  ' 
PUBLISHED  BY  GEORGE  LINDSAY. 

Paul  £?  Thomas,  Printers. 

1811. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


A  HE  ensuing  discourse  was  first  preached  at  St.  Matthew, 
Bethnal  Green,  April  22.  Some  persons  then  present,  to 
whose  judgment  and  request  I  pay  the  highest  deference, 
desired  me  to  retrieve  as  much  of  it  as  I  could  the  Sunday 
following  at  St.  Ann's  ;  with  a  view  to  its  being  taken  in 
ahort-hand,  and  published. 

The  loss  of  my  nearest  relative,  soon  after  this  sermon 
was  preached,  and  the  many  avocations  occasioned  by  that 
lamented  and  unexpected  event,  account  but  too  well  for  the 
delay  with  which  the  publication  has  been  attended.  Having, 
however,  transcribed  it  at  last  from  the  notes  of  the  person 
who  penned  it  at  the  time  of  its  delivery,  I  now  transmit  it  to 
the  press,  most  affectionately  and  respectfully  inscribed  to 
my  dear  London  friends,  whose  favours,  equally  great,  nu- 
merous, and  unmerited,  I  have  no  other  public  way  of  ac- 
knowledging. 

London,  July  3,  1770. 


. 


A  SERMON,  Xc. 


AND     IF      THERE    BE    ANY    OTHER    THING    THAT    IS    CON- 
TRARY   TO    SOUND    DOCTRINE. — 1  Tim-  i.  10. 

^T  Paul  is  commonly,  and  most  probably,  sup- 
posed to  have  written  this  epistle  about  A.  D.  65, 
that  is,  about  two  years  before  his  own  martyr- 
dom, and  about  thirty-one  after  our  Lord's  ascen- 
sion— he  addressed  it  to  Timothy,  who,  though  a 
very*  young  man,  had  been  some  time  in  the  minis- 
try, and  was  then  entrusted  with  the  oversight  of 
the  church  at  Ephesus.  In  the  estimation  of  un- 
prejudiced reason,  "  honourable  age  is  not  that 
which  standeth  in  length  of  time,  nor  that  is 
measured  by  number  of  years :  but  wisdom  is 
the  grey  hairs  unto  men,  and  an  unspotted  life  is 
old  age."f 

But  Timothy,  though  young,  was  far  from  ro- 
bust. He  was  only  strong  in  the  grace  that  is  in 
Christ  Jesus.  His  regenerate,  heaven-born  soul, 
dwelt  in  a  sickly,  infirm  body,  whence  we  read 
of  his  TTvY^xt  «t6cuicc(^  1  Tim.  v.  23.  or  frequent 
indispositions  arising  perhaps  originally  from  a 
natural  delicacy  of  constitution ;  and  certainly 
increased  by  a  rigid  abstemiousness  and  constant 
course   of  ministerial  labours.     Thus   our  hea- 


*  1  Tim.  iv.  12-  f  Wisd.  iv.  8,  9. 


212 

yenly  Father,  graciously  severe,  and  wisely  kind, 
takes  care  to  infuse  some  salutary  bitter  into  his 
children's  cup  below ;  since,  were  they  here  to 
taste  of  happiness  absolute  and  unmingled;  were 
not  the  gales  of  prosperity,  whether  spiritual  or 
temporal,  counterpoised,  more  or  less  by  the 
needful  ballast  of  affliction,  his  people  (al- 
ways imperfect  here,)  would  be  enriched  to  their 
loss  and  liable  to  be  overset  in  their  way  to  the 
kingdom  of  God.  Wherefore,  consummate  fe- 
licity, without  any  mixture  of  wormwood,  is  re- 
served for  our  enjoyment  in  a  state  where  perfect 
sunctifi cation  will  qualify  us  to  possess  it.  In 
heaven,  and  there  only,  the  inhabitants  shall  no 
more  say  in  any  sense  whatever,  I  am  sick.* 

St.  Paul  in  the  opening  of  his  apostolic  direc- 
tions to  Timothy,  adopts  the  same  simple,  majes- 
tic, and  evangelical  exordium,  with  which  the 
rest  of  his  epistles  usually  begin.  Paul  an  apos- 
tle of  Jesus  Christ,  ordained  and  sent  forth  by 
the  head  of  the  Church,  the  supreme  Master  of 
the  spiritual  vineyard,  without  whose  internal, 
authoritative  commission,  none  have  a  real  right 
to  minister  in  sacred  things,  or  to  thrust  the  sickle 
into  God's  harvest.  For  how  can  men  preach 
to  purpose,  so  as  to  be  instruments  of  conviction, 
comfort,  and  sanctification,  except  they  be  sentf 
of  God,  and  owned  of  him  ?  whence  the  apostle 
adds,  By  the  commandment^:  of  God  our  Saviour, 
and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  our  hope. 
As  an  English  nobleman  who  travels  to  some 
foreign  court,  cannot  reasonably  expect  to  be  re- 
ceived as  the   representative   of   his    sovereign 


*  Isai.  xxxiii.  24-  \  Rom.  x.  15. 

\  K*t'  £7r</oty-/}v,  according  to  the  positive  injunction,  or 
express  designation. 


213 

here,  unless  charged  with  an  actual  delegation, 
and  able  to  produce  the  credentials  of  his  mis- 
sion ;  no  more  is  any  individual  authorized  to 
arrogate  to  himself  the  honour  of  a  divine  am- 
bassage,  but  he  that  is  called  of  God,  as  was  Aa- 
ron.* A  sufficient  degree  of  gospel  light  and 
knowledge,  an  ardent  love  of  souls,  and  a  disin- 
terested concern  for  truth,  a  competent  measure 
of  ministerial  gifts  and  abilities,  and  above  all,  a 
portion  of  divine  grace  and  experience,  a  saving 
change  of  heart,  and  a  life  devoted  to  the  glory 
of  God,  are  essential  prerequisites  to  an  evangeli- 
cal discharge  of  the  sacred  function. 

The  first  verse  may  be  read  thus  :  "  Paul  an 
apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  according  to  the  express 
or  authoritative  designation  of  Jesus  Christ  our 
God,  Saviour,  and  Lord."f  So  the  passage  ma3* 
be  rendered  :  and  so  perhaps  it  ought  to  be  un- 
derstood in  its  natural  and  most  obvious  con- 
struction. Now,  even  supposing  that  the  apostle 
had  not  the  divinity  of  Christ  immediately  in 
view  at  the  time  of  his  writing  these  words,  yet 
you  must  either  give  up  his  inspiration,  or  believe 
that  Christ  is,  with  the  Father  and  the  Spirit, 
God  over  all,  blessed  for  ever  ;  since,  on  a  sub- 
ject of  such  unspeakable  consequence,  it  would 
have  argued  a  degree  of  negligence,  little  short 
of  criminal,  had  the  apostle  expressed  himseli 
in  terms  palpably  liable  to  misapprehension.  I 
therefore  conclude,  that  both  as  a  scholar  and  as 
a  Christian,  as  Gamaliel's  pupil,  and  as  an  inspi- 
red apostle,  our  sacred  penman  would  have  deli- 
vered himself  in  a  far  more  guarded  style,  had 
not  the  Son  of  God  been  indeed  God  the  Son* 


*  Heb.  v.  4. 
18   * 


214 

Either  Jesus  is  the  God,  Saviour  and  Lord  of 
his  people,  or  St.  Paul  was  guilty  of  such  inex- 
cusable inaccuracy  as  every  writer  of  common 
sense  and  common  honesty  would  be  sure  to 
avoid. 

He  goes  on  to  style  the  blessed  Jesus  our 
hope.  Ask  almost  any  man,  "  Whether  he 
hopes  to  be  saved  eternally  ?"  he  will  answer  in 
the  affirmative.  But  inquire  again,  "  On  what 
foundation  he  rests  his  hope  ?"  Here,  too,  many 
are  sadly  divided.  The  Pelagian  hopes  to  get 
to  heaven  by  a  moral  life,  and  a  good  use  of  his 
natural  powers.  The  Arminian,  by  a  jumble  of 
grace  and  free  will,  human  works  and  the  merits 
of  Christ.  The  Deist,  by  an  interested  obser- 
vance of  the  social  virtues.  Thus  merit-mon- 
gers of  every  denomination,  agree  in  making  any 
thing  the  basis  of  their  hope,  rather  than  that 
foundation,  which  God's  own  hand  hath  laid  in 
Zion.  But  what  saith  scripture  ?  It  avers  again 
and  again,  that  Jesus  alone  is  our  hope  :  to  the 
exclusion  of  all  others.  And  to  the  utter  anni- 
hilation of  human  deservings.  Beware,  there- 
fore, of  resting  your  dependence,  partly  on 
Christ,  and  partly  on  some  other  basis.  As 
surely  as  you  bottom  your  reliance  partly  on  the 
rock,  and  partly  on  the  sand,  so  certainly,  unless 
God  give  you  an  immediate  repentance  to  your 
acknowledgment  of  the  truth,  will  your  suppo- 
sed house  of  defence  fall  and  bury  you  in  its  ru- 
ins, no  less  than  if  you  had  raised  it  on  the  sand 
alone  :  Christ  is  the  hope  of  glory.*  Faith  in  his 
righteousness,  received  and  embraced  as  our  sole 
justifying  obedience  before  God,  and  the  love  of 
Christ  (an  inseparable  effect  of  that  faith  opera- 
ting on  our  hearts,  and  shilling  in  our  lives  ;)  are 

•  Col.  i.  17. 


215 

the  most  solid  evidences  we  can  have  below,  of 
our  acceptance  with  the  Father,  and  of  our  being 
saved  in  Jesus  with  an  everlasting  salvation. 

"  Unto  Timothy,  my  own  son  in  the  faith  ; 
grace,  mercy,  and  peace  from  God  our  Father, 
and  from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Some  have 
thought  that  Timothy  was  not  converted  under 
the  ministry  of  St.  Paul :  and  they  ground  their 
conjecture  on  Acts  :  vi.  1,  2.  where  Timothy  is 
mentioned  as  a  disciple,  and  a  person  well  report- 
ed of  by  the  Christians  at  Derbe  and  Lystra,  pre- 
vious to  St.  Paul's  visitation  of  those  places. 
That  Timothy  was  a  nominal  professor  of  reli- 
gion, and  a  youth  of  circumspect  behaviour,  are 
evident  from  that  passage  :  which  external  form 
of  godliness  was  probably  the  effect  of  ihe  reli- 
gious *  education  he  had  the  happiness  to  receive 
from  his  earliest  childhood.  But  from  St.  Paul's 
compellation  of  him  as  "  his  own  son  in  the 
faith,"  it  may,  I  think,  be  reasonably  inferred, 
that  the  young  disciple  was  led  from  the  outer 
court  of  mere  external  profession,  into  the  sanc- 
tuary of  heavenly  and  spiritual  experience,  ei- 
ther by  the  private  labours,  or  under  the  public 
ministry  of  this  apostle.  And  none  but  those 
ministers  whose  endeavours  have  been  blest  to 
the  conversion  of  souls  ;  and  those  persons,  who 
have  been  born  of  God  by  their  instrumentality  ; 
can  form  any  idea  of  that  spiritual  relation,  and 
unspeakably  tender  attachment,  which  subsist  be- 
tween spiritual  fathers  and  the  children  of  grace 
whom  God  hath  given  them. 

Timothy  had  been  a  true  believer  some  con- 
siderable time  before  St.  Paul  wrote  this  epistle. 
Consequently,  by  the  "  grace,  mercy  and  peace," 


*  2  Tim.  iii.  15. 


116 

which  he  prayed  might  be  the  portion  of  his  be= 
loved  converts  ;  we  are  to  understand,  not  the 
first  vouchsafement,  but  a  large  increase  of  those 
spiritual  blessings  and  comforts  :  that  he  might 
have  repeated  discoveries,  and  continued  mani- 
festations of  the  Father's  electing  grace ;  of 
Christ's  redeeming  mercy  ;  and  experience  that 
sweet  peace  and  joy  in  believing  which  are 
fruits  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  influence,  and  flow  from 
fellowship  with  him.  Privileges  these,  which 
unawakened  men  will  always  ridicule ;  but  to 
which  every  real  Christian  will  ardently  aspire. 

Time  would  fail  me  should  1  attempt  to  con- 
sider all  the  intervenient  verses.  I  find  myself 
at  a  loss,  not  what  to  say,  but  what  to  leave  un- 
said. However,  I  shall  observe  as  briefly  as  I 
can,  that  one  grand  reason  of  St.  Paul's  writing 
this  epistle,  was  to  put  Timothy  on  his  guard 
against  the  dissemination  of  corrupt  doctrines, 
and  the  insidious  arts  of  corrupt  teachers,  with 
which  the  church  of  Ephesus,  where  Timothy 
was  now  stationed,  seems  to  have  been  particu- 
larly infested.  Unregenerate  ministers  are  much 
the  same  in  all  ages,  and  in  every  country  :  An 
unconverted  preacher  in  England,  and  an  uncon- 
verted preacher  in  italy,  so  far  as  matters  mere- 
ly spiritual  are  concerned,  stand  nearly  on  a  level. 
These  all  are  what  the  Ephesian  schismatics 
were  desirous  to  be,  teachers  of  the  law,  or  legal 
teachers.  And  all  unconverted  people,  whether 
their  denomination  be  protestant  or  popish,  desire 
to  be  hearers  of  the  law,  and  are  displeased  when 
they  hear  any  thing  else.  We  are  naturally  fond 
of  that  very  law,  which  unless  the  righteousness 
of  Christ  is  ours,  is  the  ministration  of  death, 
pronounces  us  accursed,  and  binds  us  over  to 
everlasting  ruin.  The  pernicious  error  against 
which  Timothy  was  directed  to  guard  hi  s  flock, 


217 

was  a  dependence  on  the  law,  and  the  works  of 
it,  for  salvation.  And  the  reason  why  this  de- 
structive tenet  was  taught  and  enforced  by  some 
preachers  of  that  day,  and  has  been  taught  by 
their  successors  ever  since,  is  assigned  by  the 
apostle  ;  who  observes,  that  those  blind  guides 
"  understand  neither  what  they  sr.id,  nor  where- 
of they  affirmed  :"  For  if  they  had  understood 
any  thing  of  God's  inviolable  holiness  ',  of  the 
law's  inflexible  rectitude,  extent,  and  spirituali- 
ty ;  of  man's  total  inability  to  fulfil  it  perfectly, 
(and  without  perfect  obedience  the  law  cannot 
justify,)  they  would  at  once  have  ceased  to  be 
teachers  of  the  law,  and  simply  pointed  sinners 
to  that  Saviour  alone,  who  "  is  the  end  of  the 
law  for  righteousness  to  every  one  that  believ- 
eth,"*  \ 

Fashionable  as  the  doctrine  of  legal,  condition- 
al justification  is,  we  may  say  to  every  indivi- 
dual that  embraces  it,  u  Thefe  is  one  that  con- 
demns you,  even  Moses,  in  whom  you  trust."f 
and  the  very  law  on  which  you  rest :  for  its  lan- 
guage is,  u  He  that  breaketh  me  only  in  one 
point,  is  guilty  of  all.  \  And  cursed  is  every 
man  that  continueth  not  in  all  things  that  are 
written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them."§ 
Shew  me  the  man  who  has  never  offended  in  one 
point ;  who  hath  continued  in  all  things  prescri- 
bed by  Jehovah's  perfect  law  ;  who  loves  the 
Lord  with  all  his  heart,  and  his  fellow-creatures 
as  himself ;  shew  me  the  man  who  from  the  first 
to  the  last  moment  of  his  life  comes  up  to  this 
standard ;  and  then  you  will  shew  me  a  man  who 
can  be  justified  by  works  of  his  own. 


*  Rom.  x.  4.  f  John  v.  45. 

$  James  ii.  10.  §  Gal  iji.  1Q> 


218 

But  if  no  such  person  could  ever  be  found, 
Jesus  Christ  the  righteous,  singly  excepted,  St. 
Paul's  conclusion  stands  unshaken,  that  they  who 
teach  or  hold  justification  by  any  other  obedience 
than  that  of  Christ,  M  neither  know  what  they 
say,  nor  whereof  they  affirm." 

Yet  notwithstanding  we  neither  are  nor  can  be 
justified  by  the  law  still  the  uses  of  the  law 
are  numerous  and  important :  whence  the  apos- 
tle takes  care  to  add  that  the  law  is  good,  or  an- 
swers several  valuable  purposes,  if  a  man  use  it 
lawfully.  Nothing  can  be  more  evident  than  that 
by  the  law  in  this  place  is  meant  the  moral  law. 
The  ceremonial  could  not  possibly  be  intended ; 
because  it  is  not  now  to  be  adhered  to,  and  is  no 
longer  in  force  :  Whereas  the  apostle  speaks  of 
a  law  which  is  to  this  very  day  unrepealed  and 
of  standing  use  :  "  The  law  is  good  if  a  man  use 
it  lawfully."  Of  this  law  there  is  a  two-fold 
use  :  Or  rather  an  use  and  abuse.  The  use  of 
the  law  is,  among  other  things,  first  to  convince 
us  of  our  utter  sinfulness ;  and  then  secondly,  to 
lead  us  to  Christ,  as  the  great  and  only  fulfiller 
of  all  righteousness.  Now,  the  law  does  not  an- 
swer these  important  ends  directly  and  of  itself, 
but  in  a  subserviency  to  the  Holy  Spirit's  influ- 
ence j*  when  that  adorable  person  is  pleased  to 


*  "  A  gracious  sight  of  our  vileness,"  says  one  of  the 
ablest  and  most  useful  writers  of  the  last  century,  "  is  the 
work  of  Christ  only,  by  his  Spirit.  The  law  is  indeed  a 
looking-glass  ;  able  to  represent  the  filthiness  of  a  person  : 
but  the  law  gives  not  eyes  to  see  that  filthiness.  Bring  a 
looking  glass  and  set  it  before  a  blind  man,  he  sees  no  more 
spots  in  his  face  than  if  he  had  none  at  all.  Though  the 
glass  be  a  good  glass,  still  the  glass  cannot  give  eyes  ;  yet, 
if  he  had  eyes,  he  would  in  the  glass  see  his  blemishes. 
The  apostle  James  compares  the  law  to  a  looking-glass  ;  and 
a  faculty  to  represent  is  all  the  law  possesseth ;  but  it  doth 


219 

make  the  law  instrumental  to  the  conversion  of 
a  sinner.  In  which  case,  having  shaken  us  out 
of  our  self-righteousness,  and  reduced  us  to  an 
happy  necessity  of  closing  with  the  righteous- 
ness of  Christ ;  the  law  has  still  another  and  a 
farther  use  no  less  momentous  :  For,  thirdly,  It 
from  that  moment  forward  stands  as  the  great 
rule  of  our  practical  walk  and  conversation : 
Seeing  a  true  believer  is  not  without  law,  («»»W! 
a  lawless  person,)  towards  God:  but  is  «vo^,a?, 
within  the  bond  of  the  law  to  Christ  :*  Not  ex- 
empted from  his  control,  as  the  standard  of  mo- 
ral action,  though  delivered  from  its  power  and 
execration,  as  a  covenant  of  works. 

These  are  the  three  grand,  lawful  uses  of  the 
law.  On  the  other  hand,  if  any  of  us  are  so  de- 
plorably lost  to  all  sense  of  Christian  duty  and 
gospel  privilege,  as  to  suppose  that  by  our  own 
partial  conformity  to  the  law,  how  sincere  soever 
it  be,  we  can  work  out,  and  work  up  a  righ- 
teousness for  ourselves,  wherein  to  stand  before 
the  tribunal  of  God,  and  for  which  to  obtain  any 
favour  at  his  hand,  we  use  the  law  unlawfully : 
we  sadly  mistake  the  very  end  for  which  the  law 
was  promulgated,  which  was,  that  under  the  effi- 
cacy of  grace,  and  the  teachings  of  the  blessed 
Spirit  it  might  bring  us  to  a  knowledge  of  ourf 
guilt,  and  a  sense  of  our^:  danger ;  convince  us 
of  our§  helplessness,  and  as  a  schoolmaster, 
bring  us  to  Christ,  that  we  may  be  justified  by 
faith,  and  not  by  the  works  of  the  law  :  for  by 


not  impart  a  faculty  to  see  what  it  represents.  It  is  Christ 
alone  who  opens  the  eyes  of  men  to  behold  their  own  vile- 
ness  and  guilt  He  opens  the  eyes,  and  then  in  the  law  a 
man  sees  what  he  is." 

*  1  Cor.  ix.  21.       f  Rom.  iii.  20      *  Deut.  xxxiii.  2.     Heb.- 
aft.  18, 19,  20, 21.    §  Psalm  cxix.  96.    Rom.vii.  3. 


220 

the  works  of  the  law,  as  performed  by  us,  shall 
no  flesh  be  justified.* 

That  grand  error  of  the  heart  (for  it  is  an 
heart-error,  as  well  as  an  head-error,  deeply 
rooted  in  our  corrupt  nature,  as  well  as  perni- 
ciously pleasing  to  unassisted  reason,)  which  mis- 
represents justification  as  at  all  suspended  on 
causes  or  conditions  of  human  performance  j  will, 
and  must,  if  finally  persisted  in,  transmit  the  un- 
believer, who  has  opportunities  of  better  infor- 
mation, to  that  place  of  torment,  u  where  the 
worm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is  not  quenched." 

The  apostle  goes  on  :  "  Knowing  that  the  law 
is  not  made  for  a  righteous  man,  but  for  the  dis- 
obedient," &c.  The  phrase,  a  righteous  man, 
means,  in  its  strictly  evangelical  sense,  one  that 
is  in-  Christ ;  or,  who  is  righteous  before  God  in 
the  righteousness  of  his  Son,  apprehended  by 
faith.  Now,  the  law,  i.  e.  the  damnatory  sen- 
tence of  it,  was  not  designed  for  such  a  person. 
Weak  believers  have  sometimes  a  good  deal  to 
do  with  the  law,  and  are  apt  to  hover  about 
mount  Sinai ;  but  the  law  has  nothing  to  do  with 
them  any  more  than  a  creditor,  who  has  received 
ample  payment  from  the  hand  of  a  surety,  can 
have  any  remaining  claim  on  the  original  debtor. 
The  law  took,  as  it  were,  our  heavenly  Bonds- 
man by  the  throat,  saying,  "  Pay  me  that  thou 
owest,"  and  Jesus  acknowledged  the  demand. 
He  paid  the  double  debt  of  obedience  and  suffer- 
ing to  the  utmost  farthing.  So  that,  as  some 
render  the  words  under  consideration,  "  the  law 
lieth  not  against  a  righteous  man  ;"f  its  claims 
are  satisfied ;  its  sentence  is  superseded  ;  its  con- 


*  Gal.  iii.  24.  and  ii.  16.  t  ^(mcIo  sa^cj  a  xeircci* 


221 

demning  power  is  abolished.  And  whoever  have 
been  enabled  to  fly  for  refuge  to  the  righteous- 
ness of  Christ,  and  to  lay  hold  on  the  hope  set 
before  them,  may  depend  on  this  as  a  most  cer- 
tain truth,  that  "  Christ  hath  redeemed  them 
from  the  curse  of  the  law,  having  been  himself 
made  a  curse  for  them."*  Such  are  not  under 
the  law,  whether  as  a  covenant  of  works  to  be 
saved  by,  or  as  a  denunciation  of  wrath  to  be  con- 
demned by;  but  they  are  under  grace  ;f  under 
that  sweet  dispensation  of  everlasting  love,  which, 
when  made  known  to  the  believing  soul,  at  once 
ensures  the  practice  of  universal  godliness,  and. 
refers  the  entire  praise  of  salvation  to  the  un- 
merited grace  of  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit.  I  said, 
that  the  dispensation  of  grace  ensures  the  prac- 
tice of  universal  godliness ;  for,  considered  as 
a  rule  of  moral  conduct,  the  law  most  certainly 
ii  designed  for  believers.  And  indeed,  only  be- 
lievers can  yield  real,  acceptable  obedience  to  the 
law ;  for,  "  Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to 
please  God  '."■$.  and  "  Whatever  proceedeth  not 
from  faith  is  sin."§  Therefore,  if  God  hath  not 
wrought  living  faith  in  your  heart,  you  have  ne- 
ver performed  one  truly  good  work  in  your 
whole  life. 

St.  Paul  next  proceeds  to  draw  a  catalogue  of 
sins,  against  which  the  denunciations  of  the  law 
are  most  eminently  levelled  :  closing  the  list  with 
the  words  first  read,  "  And  if  there  be  any  other 
thing  that  is  contrary  to  sound  doctrine."  A 
plain  intimation,  that  error  in  principals  funda- 
mental, has  a  very  unfavourable  influence  on 
practicals  ;    and  that,    in    proportion  as  the  doc 


*Gal.  iii.  1.1.     f  RoiW.ti.  14.     i  Heb.  si.  9.     $  B«m.xiv.  1!. 
19 


222 

trines  of  God  are  disbelieved,  the  commandments 
of  God  will  be  disobeyed.  Doctrinals,  there- 
fore, are  not  of  that  small  significance  which  the 
injudicious  and  the  heterodox  affect  to  give  out. 
For,  though  matters  of  doctrine  are  by  some  con- 
sidered merely  as  the  shell  of  religion,  and  experi- 
ence only  as  the  kernel ;  yet  let  it  be  remembered, 
that  there  is  no  coming  at  the  kernel  but  through 
the  shell ;  and,  while  the  kernel  gives  value  to  the 
shell,  the  shell  is  the  guardian  of  the  kernel. 
Destroy  that,  and  you  injure  this.  The  apostle 
in  the  words  before  us  stamps  the  evangelical 
doctrines  with  the  seal  of  dignity,  usefulness,  and 
importance;  as  is  evident  from  the  epithet  he 
makes  use  of.  He  calls  the  system  of  gospel 
truths,  sound  doctrine  :  vyicctvxc-y  SiS'asY.aXict,  sala~ 
tary,  health-giving  doctrine  ;  not  only  right  and 
sound  in  itself,  but  conducing  to  the  spiritual 
strength  and  health  of  those  that  receive  it : 
Doctrine,  that  operates  like  some  efficacious  re- 
storative on  an  exhausted  constitution  ;  that  ren- 
ders the  sin-sick  souls  of  men  healthy,  vigorous, 
and  thriving  :  that  causes  them  through  the  bles- 
sing of  divine  grace,  to  "  grow  as  the  lily,  and 
to  cast  forth  the  root  as  Lebanon,  to  revive  as 
the  corn,  and  to  flourish  as  the  vine,  to  diffuse 
their  branches,  and  rival  the  olive-tree,"*  both 
in  beauty  and  fruitfulness. 

On  the  other  hand,  unsound  doctrine  has  the 
very  opposite  effects.  It  impoverishes  our  views 
of  God,  withers  our  hopes,  makes  our  faith  lan- 
guid, blasts  our  spiritual  enjoyments,  and  lays  the 
axe  to  the  very  root  of  christian  obedience.  We 
may  say  of  it  as  the  Jewish  students  said  on 
another  occasion,    there  is  death  in  the  pot.     If 


*  IIos-  xiv. 


223 

you  cat  it  you  are  poisoned.  With  the  utmost 
attention,  therefore,  should  we  attend  to  the 
apostle's  caveat,  and  avoid  every  thing  "  that  is 
contrary  to  sound  doctrine." 

Many  such  things  there  are.  I  have  not  time 
even  to  recite,  much  less  to  expatiate  on  them  all. 
I  shall,  therefore,  only  endeavour,  as  God  may  en- 
able me,  to  point  out  a  few  very  common,  but 
very  capital  errors,  which  are  totally  inconsistent 
with  sound  doctrine. 

Previous  to  my  entrance  on  this  part  of  the 
subject,  I  would  premise  two  particulars  : 

1.  That  what  I  am  going  to  observe,  does  not 
proceed  from  the  least  degree  of  bitterness  against 
the  persons  of  any,  from  whom  I  differ ;  and, 

2.  That  I  am  infinitely  remote  even  from  the 
slightest  wish  of  erecting  mj'self  into  a  dictator 
to  others. 

The  rights  of  conscience  are  inviolably  sacred  ; 
and  liberty  of  private  judgment  is  every  man's 
birthright.  If,  however,  any  like  Esau,  have 
sold  their  birthright  for  a  mess  of  pottage,  by 
subscribing  to  articles  they  do  not  believe,  merely 
for  the  sake  of  temporal  profit  or  aggrandise- 
ment, they  have  only  themselves  to  thank  for  the 
little  ceremony  they  are  entitled  to. — With  re- 
gard to  myself,  as  one  whom  God  has  been  pleas- 
ed to  put  into  the  ministry  ;  above  all,  into  the 
ministry  of  the  best  and  purest  visible  church  in 
the  whole  world ;  I  should  be  a  traitor  to  God, 
to  Christ,  to  the  scriptures,  and  to  truth — un- 
faithful to  souls,  and  to  my  own  conscience,  if 
I  did  not,  without  fear  or  favour,  declare  the 
entire  counsel  of  God,  so  far  as  I  apprehend  my- 
self led  into  the  knowledge  of  it.  Inconsider- 
able as  I  am,  many  of  you  are,  no  doubt,  ac- 
quainted with  the  variety  of  reports  that  have 
been  spread  (especially  since  this  time  of  my  be- 


224, 

ing  in  town)  concerning  me,  and  the  doctrines 
by  which  I  hold  it  my  indispensable  duty  to  abide. 
I  deem  myself,  therefore,  happy,  in  having  one 
more  opportunity  to  testify  the  little  that  I  know 
concerning  that  "mystery  of  the  gospel  which 
God  ordained  before  the  world  for  our  glory." 
And  I  desire  in  the  most  public  manner  to  thank 
the  great  Author  of  all  consolation,  for  a  very 
particular  instance  of  his  favour,  and  which  I  look 
upon  as  one  of  the  most  felicitating  circumstances 
of  my  whole  life  :  I  mean  my  early  acquaintance 
with  the  doctrines  of  grace.  Many  great  and 
good  men  who  were  converted  late  in  life,  have 
had  the  whole  web  of  their  preceding  ministry 
to  unravel,  and  been  under  a  necessity  of  re- 
versing all  they  had  been  delivering  for  years  be- 
fore. But  it  is  not  the  smallest  of  my  distin- 
guishing mercies,  that,  from  the  very  commence- 
ment of  my  unworthy  ministrations  I  have  not 
had  a  single  doctrine  to  retract,  nor  a  single  word 
to  unsay.  I  have  subscribed  to  the  articles, 
homilies,  and  liturgy,  five  separate  times,  and 
that  from  principle  ;  nor  do  I  believe  those  forms 
of  sound  words  because  I  have  subscribed  to 
them,  but  I  therefore  subscribed  them  because  I 
believed  them.  I  set  out  with  the  gospel  from 
the  very  first  :  and  having  obtained  help  from 
God,  I  continue  to  this  day  witnessing  both  to 
small  and  great,  saying  no  other  things  than  Mo- 
ses and  the  prophets,"*  Jesus,  and  his  apostles, 
have, said  before  me.  And,  in  an  absolute  de- 
pendence on  the  divine  power  and  faithfulness,  I 
trust  that  I  shall  to  the  end  be  enabled  to  count 
neither  health,  wealth,  reputation,  nor  life  itself", 
dear  to  me,  so  I  may  finish  my  course  with  joy, 


*  Acts  xxvi.  22 


225 

and  fulfil  the  ministry  which  I  have  received  of 
the  Lord  Jesus,  to  testify  the  gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God."* 

"  Careless  (myself  a  dying  man) 
Of  dying  men's  esteem  : 
Happy  if  thou,  O  God,  approve, 
Though  all  beside  condemn." 

If  the  most  accomplished  and  respectable  per- 
son of  all  heathen  antiquity  could  declare,  that 
he  "  would  rather  obtain  the  single  approbation 
of  Cato  than  have  a  triumph  voted  to  him  by 
the  senate,"  much  more  will  a  christian  minister 
prefer  the  approbation  of  God  to  all  the  tvanid 
eclats  of  an  applauding  universe. 

I  shall  arm  myself  this  afternoon  with  a  two- 
fold weapon  :  with  the  bible  in  one  hand,  and 
our  church  articles  in  the  other.  I  shall  appeal 
at  once  for  all  I  have  to  say  to  the  authority  of 
God's  unerring  oracles,  and  to  their  faithful  epi- 
tome, the  decisions  of  the  church  of  England. 
They  who  perhaps  set  light  by  the  scriptures, 
may  yet  pay  some  decent  deference  to  the 
church  :  and  they  who  it  may  be  pay  little  atten- 
tion to  church  determinations,  will  render  impli- 
cit credit  to  the  scriptures.  So  that,  between  the 
bible  and  the  thirty-nine  articles  I  hope  I  shall 
be  able  to  carry  my  point,  and,  as  far  as  my  sub- 
ject leads  me,  enter  a  successful  caveat  against 
whatever  things  are  contrary  to  sound  doctrine. 
In  attempting  this  I  shall  fix  my  foot  upon  Ar~ 
minianism  ;  which,  in  its  several  branches,  is  the 
gangrene  of  the  protestant  churches,  and  the 
predominant  evil  of  the  day. 

What  think  you, 


*  Acts  xx.  24. 

19  * 


226 

I.  Of  conditional  election  f  We  have  indeed, 
some  who  deny  there  is  any  such  thing  as  election 
at  all.  They  start  at  the  very  word,  as  if  it  were 
a  spectre  just  come  from  the  shades  and  never 
seen  before.  I  shall  waste  no  time  on  these  men. 
They  are  out  of  the  pale,  to  which  my  allotted 
plan  confines  me  at  present.  They  cannot  be 
church  of  England  men  who  proscribe  a  term 
that  occurs  so  frequently  in  her  offices  and  stan- 
dards of  faith  :  nor  can  they  even  be  Christians 
at  large  who  cashier  with  affected  horror,  a  word 
which,  under  one  form  or  other,  is  to  be  met  with 
between  forty  and  fifty  times  at  least  in  the  New 
Testament  only. 

My  business  now  is  with  those  who  endea- 
vour to  save  appearances  by  admitting  the  word, 
while  in  reality  they  anathematize  the  thing. 
These  profess  to  hold  an  election  ;  but  then  it  is 
a  conditional  one,  and  founded,  as  they  suppose, 
on  some  good  quality  or  qualities  foreseen  in  the 
objects  of  it.  Thus  bottoming  the  purposes  of 
God  on  the  precarious  will  of  apostate  men ; 
and  making  that  which  is  temporal,  the  cause  of 
that  which  was  eternal.  "  The  Deity,"  say  per- 
sons of  this  cast,  "  foreknowing  how  you  and  I 
would  behave,  and  foreseeing  our  improvements 
and  our  faithfulness,  and  what  a  proper  use  we 
should  make  of  our  free  will,  ordained  us,  and 
all  such  good  sort  of  people,  to  everlasting  life.'* 

Nothing  can  be  more  contrary  to  sound  doc- 
trine, and  even  to  sound  reason  than  this.  It 
proceeds  on  a  supposition  that  man  is  before- 
hand with  God  in  the  business  of  salvation  ;  and 
that  the  resolutions  of  God's  will  are  absolutely 
dependent  on  the  will  of  his  creatures  :  That  he 
has  in  short  created  a  set  of  sovereign  beings, 
from  whom  he  receives  law ;  and  that  his  own 
purpose  and  conduct  are  shaped  and  regulated 


227 

according  to  the  prior  self-determinations  of  in- 
dependent man — What  is  this  but  atheism  in  a 
?nask  ?  for  where  is  the  difference  between  the 
denial  of  a  first  cause,  and  the  assignation  of  a 
false  one  ? 

Quite  opposite  is  the  decision  of  inspiration, 
Romans  xi.  6.  where  the  apostle  terms  God's 
choice  of  his  people,  an  election  of  grace,  or  a 
gratuitous  election  ;  and  observes  that  "  If  it  be 
of  grace,  then  is  it  no  more  of  works  ;  other- 
wise grace  were  no  more  grace  :  but  if  it  be  of 
works,  then  is  it  no  more  grace  ;  otherwise  work 
were  no  more  work."  Conditional  grace  is  a 
most  palpable  contradiction  in  terms.  Grace  is 
no  longer  grace  than  while  it  is  absolute  and  free. 
You  might  with  far  greater  ease  bring  the  two 
poles  together,  than  effect  a  coalition  between 
grace  and  works  in  the  affair  of  election.  As 
far,  and  as  high  as  the  heavens  are  above  the 
earth,  are  the  immanent  acts  of  God  superior  to 
a  dependence  on  any  thing  wrought  by  sinful, 
perishable  man. 

Consult  our  seventeenth  article,  and  you  will 
clearly  see  whether  conditional  election  be  the 
doctrine  of  the  church  of  England.  "  Predesti- 
nation to  life  is  the  everlasting  purpose  of  God, 
whereby  before  the  foundations  of  the  world  xvere 
laid,  he  hath  constantly  decreed  by  his  coun- 
sel secret  to  us,  to  deliver  from  curse  and  dam- 
nation those  whom  he  hath  chosen  in  Christ  out 
of  mankind,  and  to  bring  them  by  Christ  to  ever- 
lasting salvation  as  vessels  made  to  honour"  Is 
there  a  word  about  conditionally  here  ?  On  the 
contrary,  is  not  election  or  predestination  unto 
life  peremptorily  declared  to  be  God's  own 
everlasting  purpose,  decree,  counsel  and  choice  ? 
The  elect  are  said  to  be  brought  to  salvation,  not 
as  persons  of  foreseen  virtue  and  pliableness ; 


226 

but  simply  and  merely  "  as  vessels  made  to  ho- 
nour." Add  to  this  that  the  article  goes  on  to 
style  election  a  benefit,  or  gift;  a  Wherefore,  they 
that  be  endued  with  so  excellent  a  benefit." — 
But  how  could  predestination  or  blessedness  be 
so  termed,  if  it  Were  suspended  on  the  foresight 
of  something  to  be  wrought  by  the  person  pre- 
destinated ?  For  a  condition  in  matters  of  spirit- 
ual concern,  is  analogous  to  a  price  in  matters  of 
commerce;  and  a  purchased  gift  is  just  as  good 
sense  as  conditional  grace. 

Our  venerable  reformers  were  two  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  scriptures  and  with  the  power 
of  God  to  err  on  a  subject  of  such  unutterable 
moment.  Whence,  in  the  article  now  cited  they 
took  care  to  lay  God's  absolute  and  sovereign 
election  as  the  basis  of  sanctification  :  so  far 
were  they  from  representing  sanctification  as  the 
ground-work  of  election.  Our  modern  invert- 
ers of  Christianity,  the  Arminians,  by  endeavour- 
ing to  found  election  upon  human  qualifications, 
resemble  an  insane  architect,  who,  in  attempting 
to  raise  an  edifice,  should  make  tiles  and  laths 
the  foundation,  and  reserve  his  bricks  and  stones 
for  the  roof.  Quot  sunt  hominum  virtutes,  toti- 
dem  sunt  dei  dona,  said  the  learned  and  excel- 
lent Du  Moulin  :  and  if  sanctification  be  God's 
gift,  men's  goodness  could  not  possibly  be  a  mo- 
tive to  their  election  ;  unless  we  can  digest  this 
enormous  absurdity,  viz.  that  God's  gifts  may 
be  conditional  and  meritorious  one  of  another. 
Do  you  imagine  that  God  could  foresee  any  ho- 
liness in  men,  which  himself  did  not  decree  to 
give  them  ?  You  cannot  suppose  it,  without  be- 
lieving at  the  same  time,  that  God  is  not  the  au- 
thor of  all  good ;  and  that  there  are,  or  may  be, 
some  good  and  perfect  gifts,  which  do  not  de- 
scend from  the  Father  of  lights ;  and  that  the 


229 

apostle  was  widely  mistaken  when  he  laid  down 
this  axiom,  that  u  it  is  God  who  of  his  own  good 
pleasure  worketh  in  us  both  to  will  and  to  do." 

According  to  our  church,  God's  election  leads 
the  van  ;  sanctification  forms  the  centre  ;  and 
glory  brings  up  the  rear  :*  u  Wherefore,  they 
that  be  endued  with  so  excellent  a  benefit  of 
God  be  called,  according  to  God's  purpose,  by 
his  Spirit  working  in  due  season  ;  they,  through 
grace,  obey  the  calling  ;  they  be  justified  freely  ; 
they  be  made  the  sons  of  God  by  adoption." 
Hitherto  good  works  are  not  so  much  as  men- 
tioned. Why  so  ?  Because  our  reformers  were 
Antimonians,  and  exploded  or  despised  moral 
performances  ?  by  no  means.  Those  holy  per- 
sons were  themselves  living  confutations  of  so 
vile  a  suggestion.  The  tenor  of  their  lives  was 
as  blameless  as  their  doctrine.  But  they  had 
learned  to  distinguish  ideas,  and  were  too  judi- 
cious, both  as  logicians  and  divines,  to  represent 
effects  as  prior  to  the  causes  that  produce  them. 
They  were  not  ashamed  to  betake  themselves  to 
the  scriptures  for  information,  and  to  deliver  out 
the  living  water  of  sound  doctrine  pure  and  un- 
mingled  as  they  had  drawn  it  from  the  fountains 
of  truth.  Hence,  election,  calling,  justifica- 
tion, and  adoption,  are  set  forth,  not  as  caused  by, 
but  as  the  real  and  leading  causes  of  that  moral 
change,  which  sooner  or  later  takes  place  in  the 
children  of  God.  For  thus  the  article  goes  on  ; 
'  They  be  made  like  the  image  of  his  only  be- 
gotten Son  Jesus  Christ :  they  walk  religiously 
in  good  xvorks  ;  and  at  length,  by  God's  mercy, 
they  attain  to  everlasting  felicity." 

This  then  is  the  order  :     1.  Election  :    2.  Ef- 
fectued   Calling:    3.  Apprehensive  Justification  : 

*  Art.  xvli. 


230 

4.  Manifestative  Adoption :  5.  Sanctification : 
6.  Religious  walking  in  good 'works :  7.  Continu- 
ance in  these  to  the  end  :  which  last  blessing 
must  of  necessity  be  included,  because  the  arti- 
cle adds,  that  these  elect,  regenerate  persons,  at- 
tain at  length  to  everlasting  felicity  ;  which  they 
could  not  do  without  final  perseverance,  any 
more  than  you  or  I,  upon  our  departure  from 
this  church,  could  arrive  at  our  respective  homes, 
if  we  finally  stop  short  of  them  by  the  way. — 
such,  therefore,  being  the  chain  and  process  of 
salvation,  how  impious  and  how  fruitless  must 
any  attempt  be,  either  to  transpose  or  put  asun- 
der what  God  has  so  wisely  and  inseparably 
joined  together ! 

Unless  we  take  absolute  election  into  the  ac- 
count, we  must  either  suppose  that  God  saves  no 
man  whatever,  or  that  those  he  ,saves  are  saved 
at  random,  and  without  design.  But  his  good- 
ness forbids  the  first,  and  his  wisdom  excludes 
the  latter.  Absolute  election  therefore  must  be 
taken  into  the  account,  or  you  at  once  ipso  facto, 
strike  off  either  goodness  or  wisdom  from  the 
list  of  divine  perfections. — That  scheme  of  doc- 
trine must  necessarily  be  untrue,  which  repre- 
sents the  Deity  as  observing  no  regular  order,  no 
determinate  plan,  in  an  affair  of  such  consequence 
as  the  everlasting  salvation  of  his  people.  I  can- 
not acquit  of  blasphemy,  that  system  which  likens 
the  Deity  to  a  careless  ostrich,  which  having  de- 
posited her  eggs,  leaves  them  in  the  sand  to  be 
hatched  or  crushed,  just  as  chance  happens. 
Surely  he  who  numbers  the  very  hairs  of  his 
people's  heads,  does  not  consign  their  souls,  and 
their  eternal  interests  to  precarious  hazard  !  the 
blessings  of  grace  and  glory  are  too  valuable  and 
important  to  be  shuffled  and  dealt  out  by  the  hand 
of  chance.     Besides,  if  one  thing  comes  to  pass 


either  without  or  contrary  to  the  will  of  God  ,* 
another  thing,  nay,  all  things  may  come  to  pass 
in  the  same  manner ;  and  then,  good  by  to  pro- 
vidence entirely. 

When  Lysander  the  Spartan  paid  a  visit  to 
king  Cyrus  (at  Corinth,  if  I  mistake  not,)  he 
was  particularly  struck  with  the  elegance  and  or- 
der, the  variety  and  magnificence  of  Cyrus's  gar- 
dens. Cyrus,  no  less  charmed  with  the  taste  and 
judgment  of  his  guest,  told  him  with  visible  emo- 
tions of  pleasure,  "  These  lovely  walks  with  all 
their  beauty  of  disposition  and  vastness  of  ex- 
tent, were  planned  by  myself;  and  almost  every 
tree,  shrub,  and  flower,  which  you  behold,  was 
planted  by  my  own  hand." — Now,  when  we  take  a 
view  of  the  church,  which  is  at  once  the  house 
and  garden  of  the  living  God  ;  that  church  which 
the  Father  loved — for  which  the  Son  became  a 
man  of  sorrows — and  which  the  Holy  Spirit  de- 
scends from  heaven  in  all  his  plentitude  of  con- 
verting power,  to  cultivate  and  build  anew  j 
when  we  survey  this  living  paradise,  and  this 
mystic  edifice,  of  which  such  glorious  things  are 
spoken,*  and  on  which  such  glorious  privileges 
are  conferred,  must  we  not  acknowledge,  Thy 
sovereign  hand,  O  uncreated  love,  drew  the  plan  of 
this  spiritual  Eden  !  Thy  hand,  almighty  power, 
set  every  Hying  tree,  every  true  believer,  in  the 
courts  of  the  Lord's  house.  Thy  converted  people 
are  all  righteous  ;  they  shall  inherit  the  land  for 
ever,  even  the  branches  of  thy  planting,  the  work 
of  thy  hands,  that  thou  mayest  be  'glorified  if 

Admitting  election  to  be  thus  a  complete,  eter- 
nal, immanent  act  in  the  divine  mind,  and  conse- 
quently irrespective  of  any  thing  in  the  persons 


*  Psalm  lxxxv.  %  f  Isai.  Ix.  21. 


232 

chosen ;  then  (may  some  say)  "  Farewell  to  gos- 
pel obedience  ;  all  good  works  are  destroyed." 
If,  by  destroying  good  works,  you  mean  that  the 
doctrine  of  unconditional  election  destroys  the 
merit  of  good  works,  and  represents  man  as  in- 
capable of  earning  or  deserving  the  favour  and 
kingdom  of  God,  I  acknowledge  the  force  of 
the  objection.  Predestination  does,  most  cer- 
tainly destroy  the  merit  of  our  works  and  obe- 
dience, but  not  the  performance  of  them  :  since 
holiness  is  itself  one  end  of  election,*  and  the 
elect  are  as  much  chosen  to  intermediate  sanctifi- 
cation  on  their  way  as  they  are  to  that  ultimate 
glory  which  crowns  their  journey's  end : j  and 
there  is  no  coming  at  the  one  but  through  the 
other.  So  that  neither  the  value,  nor  the  neces- 
sity, nor  the  practice  of  good  works  is  superse- 
ded by  this  glorious  truth  :  our  acts  of  evangeli- 
cal obedience  are  no  more  than  marshalled,  and 
consigned  to  their  due  place  :  restrained  from 
usurping  that  praise  which  is  due  to  the  alone 
grace  of  C  odj  and  from  arrogating  that  office, 
which  only  the  Son  of  God  was  qualified  to  dis- 
charge. 


*  Eph.  1.4. 

■f  **.  Because  we  deny  salvation  by  our  own  deeds,"  says 
one  of  our  good  old  divines,  "  the  Papists  charge  us  with 
being  enemies  to  prood  works.  Rut  am  1  an  enemy  to  a  no- 
bleman because  I-<vill  not  attribute  to  him  those  honours, 
which  are  due  only  to  the  king  ?  If  I  say  to  a  common  sol- 
dier in  an  army,  You  cannot  lead  that  army  against  the  ene- 
my, will  he  therefore  say,  Then  I  may  be  gone  ;  there  is  no 
need  of  me.'  or  if  I  see  a  man  at  his  day  labour,  and  say  to 
him,,  You  will  never  be  able  to  purchase  an  estate  of  10,000/. 
per  annum  by  working  in  that  manner  ;  will  he  therefore 
give  over  his  work,  and  say  he  is  discouraged."  Mr.  Paik's 
Comm.on  Romans,  p.  177. 


233 

That  election  as  taught  by  the  scriptures  (and 
from  thence  by  our  reformers,)  not  only  carries  a 
favourable  aspect  on  universal  piety  and  holi- 
ness, but  even  ensures  the  practice  of  both,  is  evi- 
dent among  many  other  passages,  from  that  of 
the  aposde,  2  Thess.  ii.  1 3.  "  We  are  bound  to 
give  thanks  always  to  God  for  you,  brethren,  be- 
loved of  the  Lord,  because  God  hath  from  the  be- 
ginning," i.  e.  from  everlasting,  "  chosen  you  to 
salvation  through"  [not  for,  but  through]  "  sanc- 
tification  of  the  Spirit,  and  belief  of  the  truth." 
How  very  opposite  were  St.  Paul's  views  of  the 
tendency  of  this  doctrine,  from  those  of  the  Pe- 
lagian and  Arminian  objectors  to  it  ?  They  are 
perpetually  crying  out  that  it  "  ruins  morality, 
and  opens  a  ready  door  to  licentiousness."  He, 
on  the  contrary,  represents  the  believing  consi- 
deration of  it  as  a  grand  incentive  to  the  exer- 
cise of  our  graces,  and  to  the  observance  of  mo- 
ral dut) .  Let  us,  says  he,  who  are  of  the  day, 
who  are  enlightened  into  the  knowledge  of  this 
blessed  privilege,  and  can  read  our  names  in  the 
book  of  life  ;  "  Let  us,  who  are  thus  of  the  day, 
be  sober;  putting  on  the  breast-plate  of  faith 
and  love,  and  for  an  helmet,  the  hope  of  salva- 
tion :  for  God  hath  not  appointed  us  to  wrath, 
but  to  obtain  salvation  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 
1  Thess.  v.  8,  9.  Now,  if  election  secures  the 
performance  of  good  works,  and  upon  its  own, 
plan,  renders  them  indispensably  necessary,  I 
should  be  glad  to  know  how  good  works  can  suf- 
fer by  the  doctrine  of  election  ?  You  may  as  well 
say  that  the  san,  which  now  shines  into  this 
church,  is  the  parent  of  frost  and  darkness.  No, 
it  is  the  source  of  light  and  warmth.  And  you 
and  I  want  nothing  more  than  a  sense  of  God's 
peculiar,  discriminating  favour ,  "  shed  abroad 
20 


234 

in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost  given  to  us,'**  to 
render  us  more  and  more  fruitful  in  every  good 
word  and  work."  As  an  excellent  personf  ob- 
serves, tt  That  man's  love  to  God  will  be  with- 
out end,  who  knows  that  God's  love  to  him  was 
without  beginning." 

II.  What  think  you  of  that  fashionable  tenet, 
so  contrary  to  sound  doctrine,  concerning  the 
supposed  dignity  and  rectitude  of  human  nature 
in  its  fallen  state  ?  A  doctrine  as  totally  irrecon- 
cileable  to  reason  and  fact,  as  if  an  expiring  leper 
should  value  himself  on  the  health  and  beauty  of 
his  person  ;  or  a  ruined  bankrupt  should  boast 
his  immensity  of  wealth. 

As  soon  as  we  are  born  we  go  astray.  Nay, 
I  will  venture  scripture  authority  to  carry  the 
point  higher  still.  All  mankind  are  guilty  and 
depraved  before  they  are  born.  "  Behold  I  was 
shapen  in  wickedness,  and  in  sin  did  my  mother 
conceive  me."|  A  thunderbolt  to  human  pride, 
and  a  dagger  in  every  heart  of  natural  excellence. 
Thus  speaks  the  bible ;  and  thus  experience 
speaks.  Our  own  church  likewise  delivers  her 
judgment  in  perfect  conformity  to  both. 

Article  9.  Of  original  or  birth  sin. — "Ori- 
ginal sin  standeth  not  in  the  following  [or  imi- 
tation] of  Adam,  as  the   Pelagians  §    do  vainly 


*  Rom.  v.  5.         t  Dr-  Arrowsmith.         f  Psalm  li. 

§  In  this  article  express  mention  is  made  of  the  Pelagians  ; 
but  nothing  is,  by  name,  said  of  the  Arminians.  The  reason 
is  plain.  At  the  time  when  our  articles  passed  the  two 
houses  of  convocation  in  the  year  1562,  Arminius,  who  was 
then  only  two  years  of  age  (for  he  was  born  A.  D.  1560,) 
had  not  begun  to  sow  his  tares  :  he  was  no  more  than  a 
schismatic  in  embryo-  Arminianism  is  a  mushroom  of  latter 
date,  than  the  re-establishment  of  the  Church  of  England,  by 
Elizabeth.  It  was  not  till  the  latter  end  of  her  reign,  that 
Arminianism  had  any  great  footing  even  in  Holland  the  seat 


235 

talk ;  but  it  is  the  fault  [by  imputation]  and  cor- 
ruption [by  internal,  hereditary  derivation]  of 
the  nature  of  every  man  who  naturally  is  engen- 
dered of  the  offspring  of  Adam  :  whereby  man 
is  very  far  gone  from  original  righteousness,  and 
is  of  his  own  nature  inclined  to  evil ;  so  that  the 
flesh  lusteth  always  contrary  to  the  Spirit.  And 
therefore  in  every  person  born  into  this  world, 
It,"  [namely,  original  or  birth  sin]  "  deserveth 
God's  wrath  and  damnation." 

Now  what  becomes  of  those  plausible,  sophis- 
tical similes,  which  compare  the  natural  mind  of 
man  to  a  sheet  of  white  paper  ?  or  to  a  pliant 
Ozier,  which  you  may  bend  with  ease  this  way 
or  that  ?  Or  to  a  balance  in  (equilibria,  which  you 
may  incline  to  either  side,  according  as  you 
throw  more  or  less  weight  into  the  scale  ?  Or  to 
a  wax  tablet,  on  which  you  may  stamp  what  im- 
pressions you  please  ?  Alas  !  The  impression  is 
already  made.     The  thoughts  and  purposes  of 

of  its  nativity.  I  say  in  Holland,  for  there  this  grand  corrup- 
tion of  the  reformation  began ;  and  from  thence  it  found  its 
way  to  England.  It  was  a  Dutch  wind  that  blew  Arminian- 
ism  over  to  this  island  many  years  after  our  articles  were  re- 
settled as  we  now  have  them.  Therefore  it  is  that  only  Pela- 
gianism  is  mentioned.  However,  though  Arminianism  is 
younger  by  about  1200  years  than  Pelagianism,  its  nature 
and  tendency  are  much  the  same  in  fact.  The  seeming  dif- 
ference lies  in  little  more  than  this :  Pelagius  spoke  out  : 
Van  Harmin  (commonly  called  Arminius,)  with  more  art  but 
less  honesty,  qualified  and  disguised  the  poison,  that  it  might 
not  he  quite  so  alarming.  Somewhat  like  what  a  good  man 
remarked  long  ago,  concerning  the  leaven  or  false  doctrines 
of  the  Pharisees  ;  "  Christ,"  says  he,  "  compares  the  errors 
of  the  Pharisees  to  leaven.  Why  so  ?  because  of  its  secret 
mixture  with  the  wholesome  bread.  You  do  not  make  your 
bread  all  of  leaven,  for  then  nobody  would  eat  it ;  but  you 
mingle  it  skilfully,  and  by  that  means  both  go  down  together. 
Thus  our  Lord  intimates,  that  the  Pharisees  mixed  their 
errors  with  some  truths,  and  therefore  he  directs  them  to 
beware,  lest  with  the  truths  they  swallow  the  errors  also." 
Gurnall's  Christian  Armour,  vol.  I.  p.  104.   Octavo  edition. 


336 

man's  heart,  previous  to  regeneration,  are  (spirit- 
ually considered)  only  evil  and  that  continually.* 
When  converting  grace  lays  hold  of  us,  there  is 
not  only  an  heart  of  flesh  to  be  given,  but  an 
heart  of  stone  to  be  taken  away.f  God  must 
not  only  write  his  own  law  on  the  minds  of  his 
people ;  but  must  obliterate  the  law  of  sin  and 
death,  which  has  a  prior  footing  in  every  man 
that  naturally  is  engendered  of  the  offspring  of 
Adam.  So  much  for  the  spiritual  and  moral  rec- 
titude of  man,  while  unregenerate — What  think 
you, 

III.  Of  conditional  redemption  P  Another  mo- 
dish tenet,  and  no  less  contrary  to  reason  and 
sound  doctrine  than  the  preceding.  We  are 
gravely  told  by  some  that  "  Christ  did  indeed 
die,  but  he  did  not  die  absolutely,  nor  purchase 
forgiveness  and  eternal  life  for  us  certainly  :  his 
death  only  puts  us  into  a  salvable  state  ;  making 
God  placable,  and  pardon  possible."  The  whole 
efficacy  of  his  sufferings,  according  to  these  per- 
sons, depends  on  our  beginning  towardly  and 
complying :  Which  if  we  are,  we  then  come  in 
for  a  share  in  the  subsidiary  and  supplementary 
merits  of  Christ;  having  first  qualified  our- 
selves for  his  aid,  by  a  performance  of  certain 
conditions  required  on  our  part,  and  entitled 
ourselves  to  the  favour  and  notice  of  God. — Ac- 
cording to  this  scheme  (which  is  only  the  reli- 
gion of  nature  spoiled — spoiled  by  an  injudi- 
cious mixture  of  nominal  chrislianity,)  the  ado- 
rable Mediator,  instead  of  having  actually  ob- 
tained eternal  redemption^  for  his  people,  and 
secured  the  blessings  of  grace  and  glory  to  those 
for  whom  he  died  :  is  represented  as  bequeath- 
ing to  them  only  a  few  spiritual  lottery-tickets 

*  Gan.  vi.  5.        t  Ezck.  xxxvi.  26.        f  Heb' ix-  12 


237 

which  may  come  up  blanks  or  prizes,  just  as  the 
wheel  of  chance  and  human  caprice  happens  to 
turn.  Our  own  righteousness  and  endeavours 
must  first  make  the  scale  of  eternal  life  prepon- 
derate in  our  favour  J  and  then  the  merits  of 
Christ  are  thrown  in  to  make  up  good  weight. 
The  Messiah's  obedience  and  sufferings  stand,  it 
seems  for  mere  cyphers  ;  till  our  own  free  will  is 
so  kind  as  to  prefix  the  initial  figure,  and  render 
them  of  value.  I  tremble  at  the  shocking  con- 
sequences of  a  system,  which  (as  one  well  ob- 
serves) considers  the  whole  mediation  of  Christ 
as  no  more  than  "  a  pedestal  on  which  human 
worth  may  stand  exalted  :"  nay,  (to  use  the  lan- 
guage of  another)  which  "sinks  the  Son  of  God 
— how  shall  I  speak  it  ? — into  a  spiritual  huckster, 
who,  having  purchased  certain  blessings  of  his 
Father,  sells  them  out  afterwards  to  men  upon 
terms  and  conditions." 

But,  my  brethren,  u  I  hope  better  things  con- 
cerning you ;  even  the  things  that  accompany 
salvation."  We  have  not,  I  trust,  so  learned 
Christ:  or  rather,  so  mislearned  him,  and  the 
work  he  came  from  heaven  to  accomplish.  God 
forbid  that  we  should  be  found  in  the  number  of 
those,  who  adopt  a  principle  so  highly  derogato- 
ry from  the  glory  of  divine  grace,  and  so  deeply 
dishonourable  to  the  great  Saviour  of  sinners. 
To  the  law,  and  to  the  testimony »  How  speaks 
St.  Paul  ?  He  avers,  that  Jesus,  "  By  the  one 
offering  of  himself,  hath  perfected  for  ever  the 
salvation  of  them  that  are  sanctified."*  And  our 
Lord  expressly  declared  in  the  most  solemn 
prayer  that  ever  ascended  from  earth  to  heaven, 
"  I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou  gavest  me 
to  do."f  Who  then,  art  thou,  O  man,  that  darest 


Keb.  x.  14  f  John  xvii-  4 

20* 


238 

lo  tack  an  imaginary  supplement  of  thy  own,  to 
the  finished  work  of  Christ?  Such  a  conduct 
were  to  charge  incarnate  Truth  with  uttering  a 
falsehood;  and  would  be  equivalent  to  saying, 
"No,  thou  didst  not  finish  the  work  of  redemption 
which  was  given  thee  to  do  :  Thou  didst,  indeed 
a  part  of  it,  but  I  myself  must  add  something  to 
it,  or  the  whole  of  thy  performance  will  stand 
for  nothing." 

"  He  appeared  once  in  the  end  of  the  world,"  or 
at  the  close  of  the  Jewish  dispensation, — to  do 
what  ?  to  render  sin  barely  pardonable  on  the 
sinner's  fulfilment  of  previous  terms  ?  No  :  but 
actually  to  put  awav  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  him- 
self.* The  apostle's  expression  is,  that  Christ 
appeared,  E<?  xhr^n  u^sc^ixi,  unto  the  utter  abo- 
lition of  sin :  so  that  by  virtue  of  his  perfect  ob- 
lation, sin  should  neither  be  charged  upon,  nor 
eventually  mentioned  to,  those  for  whom  he  was 
offered  up.  "The  iniquity  of  Israel  shall  be 
sought  for,  and  there  shall  be  none  ;  and  the  sins 
of  Judah,  and  they  shall  not  he  found  :  for  I  will 
pardon  them  whom  I  reserve. "f  In  a  word,  ei- 
ther the  death  of  Christ  was  not  a  real  and  per- 
fect satisfaction  for  sin  ;  or,  if  it  was,  then  upon 
every  principle  of  reason  and  justice,  all  that  sin 
must  be  actually  forgiven  and  done  away,  which 
his  death  was  a  true  and  plenary  satisfaction  for. 
On  the  supposition  that  his  redemption  was  not 
absolute  ;  it  vanishes  into  no  redemption  at  all. 
Go  over,  therefore,  fairly  and  squarely,  to  the  te- 
nets of  Socinus,  or  believe  that  Christ  is  the 
Lamb  of  God,  who  in  deed  and  in  truth,  beareth 
and  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world.:): 

How  speaks  the  church  of  England,  concerning 
this  important  matter  ?  I  refer  you  to  her. 

*  Heb.  ix.  25.         |  Jer.  1.  20.        *  John  i.  29. 


239 

3ist  Article,  Of  the  one  oblation  of  Christ, 
finished  upon  the  cross — "  The  offering  of  Christ 
once  made,  is  that  perfect  redemption,  propitia- 
tion, and  satisfaction,  for  all  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world,  both  original  and  actual ;  and  there  is  no 
other  sacrifice  for  sin  but  that  alone." 

Do  not  let  that  expression,  the  whole  xuorld, 
stumble  you.  You  remember  what  our  Te  Dcum 
says,  "  When  thou  hadst  overcome  the  sharpness 
of  death,  thou  didst  open  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
to  all  believers."  So  in  the  above  article;  The  ob- 
lation of  Christ  once  made  for  all  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world,  i.  e.  the  whole  world  of  believers  : 
for  God's  elect  are  a  world  within  a  world.  The 
whole  world  is  a  scripture  term ;  and  the  compi- 
lers of  our  articles  did  well  in  adopting  it.  But 
do  you  imagine  that  every  individual  of  mankind 
is  meant  ?  surely,  no  ;  for,  were  redemption  thus 
universal,  salvation  would  and  must  be  of  equal 
extent :  otherwise,  either  God  the  Father  would 
be  unjust,  or  the  blood-shedding  of  Christ  could 
not  be  (what  our  articles  affirm  it  to  have  been) 
a  perfect  satisfaction  tor  all  sin.  Let  unlimited 
redemption  be  once  proved,  and  I  will  take  upon 
myself  to  prove  unlimited  salvation. 

There  are  many  scripture  passages  where  the 
phrases  world,  and  whole  world,  are,  and  must 
be  understood  in  a  restricted  sense.  So,  where 
St.  Paul  thus  addresses  the  Roman  converts : 
"  Your  faith  is  spoken  of,  or  celebrated,  through- 
out the  whole  world,"  i.  e.  throughout  the 
whole  believing  world,  or  christian  church  : 
for  none  but  believers  would  applaud  and  cele- 
brate the  Romans  for  their  faith  in  Christ.  Rom. 
i.  8.  "  We  are  of  God,"  says  the  apostle  John, 
"and  the  whole  world  lieth  in  the  wicked  one," 
John  v.  19.  Where,  if  the  whole  world  denote 
every  individual  of  mankind,  it  would  follow, 


240 

that  both  the  apostle  himself,  and  the  Christians 
to  whom  he  wrote,  were,  at  that  very  time,  in 
the  wicked  one  ;  and  consequently,  that  he  was 
guilty  of  self-contradiction,  in  saying,  we  are  of 
God.  In  the  book  of  Revelations,  Satan  is  sty- 
led the  deceiver  of  the  -whole  world,  chap.  xii.  9» 
and  the  whole  world  are  said  to  wonder  after  the 
beast,  chap.  xiii.  3.  meaning,  a  considerable  part 
of  the  world. 

Nay,  even  in  daily  conversation,  it  is  custom- 
ary with  us  to  make  use  of  the  word  world,  in  a 
limited  signification.  So  when  we  speak  of  the 
learned  world,  the  busy  world,  the  gay  world, 
the  polite  world,  the  religious  world,  we  do  not 
mean  that  every  man  in  the  world  is  learned,  bu- 
sy, gay,  polite,  or  religious,  we  only  mean,  those 
in  the  world  who  are  so. 

To  close  this  head.  Upon  the  supposition  of 
a  random  redemption,  and  a  precarious  salvation  ; 
St.  Paul's  inference,  "  who  shall  condemn  ?  it  is 
Christ  that  died  f9  might  be  easily  answered  and 
overthrown :  since,  if  the  Arminian  hypothesis  be 
true,  millions  of  those  for  whom  Christ  died  will 
be  condemned  ;  and  what  heightens  the  absurdi- 
ty, condemned  on  account  of  those  very  sins  for 
which  Christ  did  die.  A  supposition  exploded 
by  the  apostle  as  impossible. — Surely,  Christ 
knew  for  what  and  for  whom  he  paid  the  ransom- 
price  of  his  infinitely  precious  blood  !  nor  would 
the  Father  purchase  to  himself  a  church  of  elect 
persons  for  his  own  peculiar  residence,  and  then 
leave  Satan  to  run  away  with  as  many  of  the 
beams  and  pillars  as  he  pleases.  Equally  con- 
trary to  sound  doctrine,  is, 

IV.  The  tenet  of  justification  by  works. 

All  human  righteousness  is  imperfect :  and  to 
suppose  that  God,  whose  judgment  is  always  ac- 
cording to  truth,  will  by  a  paltry  commutation* 


241 

which  he  every  where  disclaims,  and  which  the 
majesty  of  his  law  forbids,  be  put  off  with  not 
only  a  defective,  but  even  a  polluted  obedience, 
and  justify  men  by  virtue  of  such  a  counterfeit 
(at  most  a  partial)  conformity  to  his  command- 
ments ;  to  imagine  that  the  law  accommodates 
itself  to  human  depravation,  and  Chameleon 
like,  assumes  the  complexion  of  the  sinners  with 
whom  it  has  to  do,  is  Antinomianism  of  the  gross- 
est kind.  It  represents  the  law  as  hanging  out 
false  colours,  and  insisting  on  perfection,  while 
in  fact  it  is  little  better  than  a  formal  patent  for 
licentiousness ;  and  degrades  the  adorable  law- 
giver himself  into  a  conniver  at  sin. 

Add  to  this,  that  if  God  can  consistently  with 
his  acknowledged  attributes,  and  his  avowed  de- 
clarations, save  guilty,  obnoxious  creatures,  with- 
out their  bringing  such  a  complete  righteousness 
as  the  law  demands ;  it  will  necessarily  follow 
that  God,  when  his  hand  is  in,  may  save  sinners 
without  any  righteousness  at  all,  since  the  same 
flexibility,  which  (as  the  Arminians  suppose)  in- 
duces God  to  dispense  with  part  of  his  law,  may 
go  a  step  farther,  and  induce  him  to  set  aside  the 
whole — moreover,  if  our  persons  may  be  justifi- 
ed without  a  legal  (i.  e.  a  perfect)  righteousness ; 
it  will  follow  on  the  same  principle,  that  our  sins 
may  be  pardoned  without  an  atonement ;  and 
then,  farewell  to  the  whole  scheme  of  Christianity 
at  once. 

There  are  two  grand  axioms  which  enter  into 
the  very  foundation  of  revealed  religion  : 

1.  That  the  law  will  accept  no  obedience  short 
of  perfect,  as  the  condition  of  justification  :   and, 

2.  That  ever  since  Adam's  first  offence,  man 
has,  and  can  have,  no  such  obedience  of  his  own. 

What  then  must  a  sinner  do  to  be  saved  ?  He 
must  believe  in  and  rest  upon  that  Saviour,  whQ 


242 

was  by  gracious   imputation  "  made  sin  for  us, 
that  we,"  by  a  similar  exchange,    "  might  be 
made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him"*     If 
this  be  the  gospel  scheme  of  salvation,  the  apos- 
tle's  assertion  will  be  incontestable  :  '-*  as  many 
of  you  as  are  justified  by  the  law,"  or  seek  jus- 
tification on  the  footing  of  your  own  works,  "are 
fallen  from   grace,"f    revolted  and    apostatized 
from  that  gospel  system,  which  teaches  that  men 
are  justified  by  the  grace  of  God,  flowing  through 
Christ's  righteousness  alone. \     Alas  !  how  hard- 
ly are  we  brought  to  accept  salvation  as  a  gift  of 
mere  favour  !  We  are  for  bringing  a  price  in  our 
hands,    and  coming   with    money  in  our  sack's 
mouth  :  notwithstanding  the  celestial  direction  is, 
M  Buy  wine  and  milk,  without  money  and  with- 
out price  j"§  i.  e.  take  as  absolute  possession  of 
pardon,  holiness  and  eternal  life,  as  if  they  were 
your  own  by  purchase  ;  but  remember,  that  you 
nevertheless  have  them  gratis,  without  any  de- 
sert, nay,  contrary  to  all  desert  of  yours — We  did 
not  bribe  God  to  create  us,  and  how  is  it  possible 
that  we  should  pay  him  any  thing  for  saving  us  ? 
Zeuxis,  the  celebrated   Grecian  painter,  used 
towards  the  latter  part  of  his  life^  to  give  away, 
his  pictures  without  deigning  to  accept  of  any 
pecuniary  recompense.     Being  asked  the  reason, 
his   answer  was,  "  I  make   presents  of  my  pic- 
tures because  they  are  too  valuable  to  be  purcha- 
sed.    They  are  above  all  price." — And  does  not 
God  freely  give  us  a  part  in  the  book  of  life,  an 
interest  in  his  Son,  and  a  title  to  his  kingdom  ; 
nay,  does  he  not  make  us  a  present  of  himself  in 
Christ ;  because  these  blessings  are  literally  above 
all  price  ?  too  great,  too  high,  too  glorious  to  be 
purchased  by  the  works  of  man  ?  Because  we 

•  2  Cor.  v.      f  GaJ.  v.  4.      \  Rom.  v.  21.      §  Isai.  Iv.  lc 


243 

cannot  merit  them,  God  is  graciously  pleased 
freely  to  bestow  them.  It  is  equally  sad  and 
astonishing  to  observe  the  ingredients  of  that 
foundation,  on  which  self-justiciaries  build  their 
hopes  of  heaven.  First,  there  is  a  stratum  of 
free  will ;  then,  of  good  dispositions  ;  then,  of 
legal  performances;  next,  a  layer  of  what  they 
term  divine  aids  and  assistances,  ratified  and 
made  effectual  by  human  compliances  ;  then,  a  lit- 
tle of  Christ's  merits  ;  then,  faithfulness  to  helps 
received :  and,  to  finish  the  motley  mixture,  a 
perseverance  of  their  own  spinning.  At  so 
much  pains  is  a  Pharisee,  in  going  about  to  es- 
tablish his  own  righteousness,  rather  than  em- 
brace the  bible  way  of  salvation,  by  submitting 
to  the  righteousness  of  God  the  Son.* 

Now,  what  says  the  church  of  England,  con- 
cerning the  cause  and  manner  of  our  acceptance 
with  the  Father?  Thus  she  speaks,  and  thus  all 
her  real  members  believe  : 

Article  IX.  Of  the  justification  of  man.-— 
"  We  are  accounted  righteous  before  God  alone 
for  the  merits  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  -!  esus 
Christ."  One  would  imagine  this  might  have 
been  enough  to  establish  the  point ;  but  utterly  to 
-preclude  self-righteousness  from  all  possibility  of 
access,  the  church  immediately  adds,  u  And  not 
for  our  own  works  or  deservings." 

Here  the  old  question  naturally  recurs, 
"  What  then  becomes  of  good  works  ?"  The 
plain  truth  is,  that  till  a  man  is  justified  by  faith, 
he  can  do  no  good  works  at  all. 

Article  XIII.  Of  works  done  before  jus- 
tification. — "  Works  done  before  the  grace  of 
•Christ,  and  the  inspiration  of  his  Spirit,  are  not 


*  Rom.  x.  5, 


244 

pleasant  to  God  :"  and,  if  so,  how  is  it  possible 
that  he  should  justify  us  on  account  of  them  ? 
— But,  why  are  they  not  pleasing  to  God  ?  "  For- 
asmuch," adds  the  article,  as  they  spring  not 
from  faith  in  Jesus  Christ." 

"  Well  but,  may  some  say,  "  admitting  that 
works  done  before  justification  do  not  properly 
recommend  us  to  God,  they  may  at  least  qualify 
us  for  believing ;  and  thereby  be  remotely  a  con- 
dition, sine  qua  non,  of  justification."  The 
church  will  not  allow  even  of  this.  For,  treat- 
ing in  the  above  article,  of  works  prior  to  justi- 
fication, she  adds  :  neither  do  they  make  men 
meet  to  receive  grace."  This  clinches  the  nail, 
and  cuts  up  self-righteousness,  root  and  branch. 
But  does  the  church  stop  here  ?  no  :  to  put  the 
whole  matter  as  far  beyond  doubt  as  words  can 
place  it,  she  closes  her  decision  thus  ,*  "  Yea, 
rather,  for  that  they  are  not  done  as  God  hath 
willed  and  commanded  them  to  be  done,  we 
doubt  not  but  they  have  the  nature  of  sin." 
Now,  if  works  wrought  previous  to  justification, 
are  sin,  it  is  absolutely  impossible  that  we  should 
be  justified  by  works,  unless  sin  can  be  supposed 
to  recommend  us  to  God's  favour.  Which,  to 
imagine,  were  Antimonianism  outright — What 
think  you, 

V.  Of  the  doctrine  of  uneffectual  grace  f  A 
doctrine  which  represents  Omnipotence  itself  as 
wishing  and  trying,  and  striving  to  no  purpose. 
According  to  this  tenet,  God,  in  endeavouring 
(for  it  seems  it  is  only  an  endeavour)  to  convert 
sinners,  may,  by  sinners,  be  foiled,  defeated,  and 
disappointed  : — He  may  lay  close  and  long  siege 
to  a  soul,  and  that  soul  can  from  the  citadel  of 
impregnable  free  will,  hang  out  a  flag  of  defiance 
to  God  himself,  and  by  a  continued  obstinacy  of 
defence,  and  a  few  vigorous  sallies  of  free  agen- 


245 

Ky  compel  him  to  raise  the  siege*  In  a  word, 
the  Holy  Spirit,  after  having  for  years,  perhaps, 
danced  attendance  on  the  will  of  man,  may  at 
last,  like  a  discomfited  general,  or  an  unsuccess- 
ful petitioner,  be  either  put  to  ignominious  flight, 
or  contemptuously  dismissed,  re  infecta,  without 
accomplishing  the  end  for  which  he  was  sent. 

Can  then  the  Lord  and  giver  of  life ;  can  he,  who, 
like  the  adorable  Son,  is  God  of  God  and  God 
with  God;  shall  the  blessed  Spirit  of  grace,  who  is 
in  glory,  equal,  and  in  majesty  co-eternal,  with 
the  other  two  persons  of  the  Godhead,  and  has 
all  power  both  in  heaven  and  in  earth ; — shall  he 
who  hath  the  key  of  David ;  who  openeth  and 
no  man  shutteth,  and  shutteth  and  no  man  open- 
eth ;"*  shall  he  knock  at  the  door  of  the  human 
heart,  and  leave  it  at  the  option  of  free  will  to  in- 
sult him  from  the  window,  and  bid  him  go  from 
whence  he  came  ?  Surely,  men's  eyes  must  be 
blinded  indeed  before  they  can  lay  down  such  a 
shocking  supposition  for  a  religious  aphorism ; 
and  even  go  so  far  as  to  declare  that  unless  God 
is  vanquished  by  man,  "  There  can  be  no  such 
thing  as  virtue  or  vice,  reward  or  punishment, 
praise  or  blame  !" 

The  main  root  of  the  error  consists  greatly  in. 
not  distinguishing  between  the  gospel  of  grace, 
and  the  grace  of  the  gospel.  The  gospel  of 
grace  may  be  rejected,  but  the  grace  of  the  gos- 
pel cannot.  God's  written  message  in  the  scrip- 
tures, and  his  verbal  message  by  his  ministers, 
may  or  may  not  be  listened  to  ;  whence  it  is  re- 
corded, "  All  the  day  long  have  I  stretched  forth 
my  hand  to  a  disobedient  and  gainsaying  peo- 
ple."!    But  when  God  himself  comes  and  takes 


*  Rev.  iii.  7-  f  Rom.  x.  21. 

21 


246 

the  heart  into  his  own  hand ;  when  he  speaks 
from  heaven  to  the  soul,  and  makes  the  gospel  of 
grace  a  channel  to  convey  the  grace  of  the  gos- 
pel, the  business  is  effectually  done.  "  If  God 
makes  a  change,  who  can  turn  him  away  ?'** 
Whatsoever  he  doth,  it  shall  be  for  ever  ;  no- 
thing can  be  put  to  it,  nor  any  thing  be  taken 
from  it ;  and  God  doth  it,  that  men  should  fear 
before  him,"f  and  acknowledge  that  the  excel- 
lency of  converting  power  is  of  him  and  not  of 

A  modern  schismatic,  now  living,  thought  he 
both  showed  his  wit  and  gravelled  his  opponents 
in  saying,  that  according  to  the  doctrine  of  our 
church,  "The  souls  of  men  can  no  more  vanquish 
the  saving  grace  of  God,  than  their  bodies  can 
resist  a  stroke  of  lightning."  I  would  ask  the 
objector,  whether  he  ever  knew  of  any  lightning 
like  that  which  flashed  from  the  Mediator's  eye, 
when  he  turned  and  looked  upon  Peter  ?  and 
something  similar  is  experienced  by  every  con- 
verted person.  The  Lord  turns  and  looks  upon 
a  sinner  who  then  relents,  and  cries  out  with  his 
whole  heart,  "  O  Lord,  my  God,  other  lords 
besides  thee  have  had  dominion  over  me  :"  but 
now  by  thee,  through  the  energy  of  thy  renew- 
ing influence,  "  will  I  make  mention  of  thy 
name  only."§ — "  "tyhom  have  I  in  heaven  but 
thee  ?  and  there  is  none  upon  earth  that  I  desire 
in  comparison  of  thee."^} — When  God  says  to  the 
heart,  seek  thou  my  face  :  the  reply  is,  and  can- 
not but  be,  "  Thy  face  Lord  will  I  seek."**  For 
God,  who  in  the  beginning  of  the  creation,  com- 


*  See  the  marginal  translation  of  Job  xi.  10. 

f  Eccl.  iii.  14.         \  2  Cor.  iv.  7-         §  Isai.  xxvi.  13. 

If  Psalm  lxxiii.  25.  **  Psalm  xxvii.  8. 


247 

riianded  the  light  to  shine  out  of  darkness,  hatli 
by  an  exertion  of  power,  equally  invincible,  and 
as  certainly  effectual,  shined  into  our  hearts,  to 
give  us  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  God  as  it 
is  manifested  in  the  person  and  grace  of  Jesus 
Christ.*  Wherefore,  then  do  men  say,  we  are 
lords,  and  we  will  come  no  more  unto  thee,f 
except  we  ourselves  choose  it  ?  Alas,  alas  !  did 
the  master  rest  with  us  we  should  never  choose 
to  come  to  God  at  all.  If  w*  did  not  first  change 
our  wills  we  should  never  even  will  that  great 
change,  that  internal  regeneration,  without  which 
no  man  can  see  the  kingdom  of  heaven.:):  God, 
I  am  bold  to  declare,  would  not  have  been  Lord 
of  any  hearts  now  under  this  roof,  had  he  not, 
by  the  constraining  power  of  his  own  love,  ef- 
fectually gained  them  over,  and  invincibly  attach- 
ed them  to  his  blessed  self.  The  glorious  and 
independent  Creator  made  us  at  first  without 
our  leave ;  and  yet,  according  to  the  modern  sys- 
tem, he  must  ask  and  wait  for  our  leave  before 
he  can  make  us  anew  ! 

Do  you  desire  to  know  the  judgment  of  the 
church  upon  this  point  ?  You  have  it  in  her 
seventeenth  Article  ;  where,  speaking  of  God's 
elect  people,  she  asserts  that  "  They  are  called, 
according  to  his  purpose,  by  his  Spirit  working 
in  due  season ;"  and  immediately  adds,  that 
"  they,  through  grace,  obey  the  calling."  God's 
converting  call  therefore  is  such  as  produces  obe- 
dience to  it ;  i.  e.  it  is  triumphantly  efficacious  : 
and  rendered  successful,  not  by  the  will  and  to- 
wardliness  of  the  person  called,  but  by  the  pow~ 
er  and  grace  of  him  that  calleth.  Nay,  so  far  is 
the  efficacy  of  divine   influence  from  being  sus- 


*  2  Cor.  vi.  6.        f  Jer.  ii.  31.        f  John  iiu  3. 


248 

pended  on  any  internal  or  external  abilit)7  of  the- 
creature,  that  in  our  tenth  article,  concerning 
free  will,  the  church  expresses  herself  thus  I 
The  condition  of  man  since  the  fall  of  Adam  is 
.such,  that  he  cannot  turn,  nor  even  prepare  him- 
self by  his  oxvn  natural  strength  and  good 
rvorks,  to  faith  and  calling  upon  God* 

VI.  What  think  you  of Antinomianism  f 
By  Antinomianism,  I  mean  that  doctrine  which 
teaches,  "  that  believers  are  released  from  all  ob- 
ligation to  observe  the  moral  law  as  a  rule  of 
external  obedience  :  that,  in  consequence  of 
Christ's  having  wrought  out  a  justifying  righte- 
ousness for  us,  we  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  sit 
down,  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry  :  That  the  Mes- 
siah's merits  supersede  the  necessity  of  personal, 
inherent  sanctification  ;  and  that  all  our  holiness 
is  in  him,  not  in  ourselves  :  that  the  aboundings 
of  divine  grace  give  sanction  to  the  commission 
of  sin ;  and,  in  a  word,  that  the  whole  precep- 
tive law  of  God  is  not  established,  but  repealed 
and  set  aside  from  the  time  we  believe  in  Christ." 
This  is  as  contrary  to  sound  doctrine  as  it  is  to 
sound  morals  ;  and  a  man  need  only  act  up  to 
these  principles  to  be  a  devil  incarnate.  It  is 
impossible,  that  either  the  Son  of  God,  who 
came  down  from  heaven  to  perform  and  to  make 
known  his  Father's  will ;  or  that  the  Spirit  of 
God,  speaking  in  the  scriptures,  and  acting  upon 
the  heart,  should  administer  the  least  encourage- 
ment to  negligence  and  unholiness  of  life.  There- 
fore, that  opinion  which  supposes  personal  sanc- 
tification to  be  unnecessary  to  final  glorification, 
stands  in  direct  opposition  to  every  dictate  of 
reason,  and  to  every  declaration  of  scripture. 

Indeed,  the  very  nature  of  election,  of  faith, 
and  of  all  covenant-grace  whatever,  renders  holi- 
ness  absolutely    indispensable :     forasmuch    as, 


249. 

without  a  spiritual  and  moral  resemblance  of 
God,  there  can  be  no  real  felicity  on  earth,  nor 
any  future  enjoyment  of  heaven. — Suppose  we 
appeal  to  experience  ?  I  speak  now  to  you  who 
know  in  whom  ye  have  believed  :  to  you  who 
have  received  the  atonement,  and  who  have  been 
sensibly  reconciled  unto  God  by  the  death  of  his 
Son.  If,  at  any  time  ye  have  been  off  your  guard, 
and  suffered  to  lapse  into  sin ;  how  have  ye 
felt  yourselves  afterwards  ?  ye  have  gone  with 
broken  hearts  and  with  broken  bones.*  Ye 
have  found  it  to  be  indeed  "  an  evil  and  a  bitter 
thing  to  depart,"  though  ever  so  little,  "  from 
the  Lord."  Ye  know  by  dismal  experience  that 
"  The  way  of  transgression  is  hard  :"  and  that 
sin,  like  Ezekiel's  roll,  is  written  within  and 
without,  "  with  lamentation,  and  mourning,  and 
woe."  The  gall  of  bitterness  is  inseparable  from 
the  bond  of  iniquity.  Upon  the  principle,  there- 
fore, of  mere  self-interest,  (to  go  no  higher,)  a 
true  believer  cannot  help  aspiring  to  holiness  and 
good  works. 

Heaven  must  be  brought  down  into  the  human 
soul,  before  the  human  soul  can  be  fitted  for  hea- 
ven. There  must,  as  the  schoolmen  speak,  be 
"  a  congruity  and  similitude  between  the  faculty 
and  the  object,"  i.  e.  there  must  be  an  inward 
meetness  for  the  vision  and  glory  of  God,  wrought 
in  you  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  in  order  to  render  you 
susceptible  of  those  exalted  pleasures  and  the  ful- 
ness of  joy,  which  are  in  his  presence,  and  at  his 
right  hand  forever.  Was  thy  soul,  O  unconverted 
sinner,  to  be  this  moment  separated  from  thy 
body,  and  even  admitted  into  heaven,  (supposing 
it  was  possible  for  an  unregenerate  spirit  to  en- 

0         _ 

*  Psalm  ii. 
21   * 


250 

ter,)  heaven  would  not  be  heaven  to  thee.  You 
cannot  relish  the  blessedness  of  the  new  Jerusa- 
lem, unless  God,  in  the  mean  while,  make  you 
partaker  of  a  7ieru  nature.  The  Father  chose  his 
people  to  salvation  ;  the  Son  purchased  for  them 
the  salvation  to  which  they  were  chosen  :  and  the 
blessed  Spirit  fits  and  qualifies  them  for  that 
salvation  by  his  renewing  influences  :  for,  as 
a  dead  man  cannot  inherit  an  estate,  no  more  can 
a  dead  soul  (and  every  soul  is  spiritually  dead, 
till  quickened  and  born  again  of  the  Holy  Ghost) 
inherit  the  kingdom  of  God.  Yet,  sanctification 
and  holiness  of  life  do  not  constitute  any  part  of 
our  title  to  the  heavenly  inheritance,  any  more 
than  mere  animal  life  entitles  a  man  of  fortune  to 
the  estate  he  enjoys :  he  could  not,  indeed,  enjoy 
his  estate  if  he  did  not  live ;  but  his  claim  to  his 
estate  arises  from  some  other  quarter.  In  like 
manner,  it  is  not  our  holiness  that  entitles  us  to 
heaven  ;  though  no  man  can  enter  heaven  without 
holiness.  God's  gratuitous  donation,  and  Christ's 
meritorious  righteousness,  constitute  our  right 
to  future  glory  ;  while  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  in- 
spiring us  with  spiritual  life,  of  which  spiritual 
life  good  works  are  the  evidences  and  the  act- 
ings) puts  us  into  a  real  capability  of,  and  fitness 
for,  that  inheritance  of  endless  happiness,  which 
otherwise,  we  could  never,  in  the  very  nature  of 
things,  either  possess  or  enjoy. 

"  Let  it  be  observed,"  says  one  of  the  most 
learned  and  judicious  writers  of  this  age,  u  that 
Christ's  active  obedience  to  the  law  for  us,  in 
our  room  and  stead,  does  not  exempt  us  from  per- 
sonal obedience  to  it  any  more  than  his  sufferings 
and  death  exempt  us  from  corporal  death,  or  from 
suffering  for  his  sake.  It  is  true  indeed,  we  do 
not  suffer  and  die  in  the  sense  he  did,  to  satisfy 
justice,   and  atone  for  sin  :    so   neither  do  wo- 


251 

yield  obedience  to  the  law,  in  order  to  obtain 
eternal  life  by  it.  By  Christ's  obedience  for  us 
we  are  exempted  from  obedience  to  the  law  in 
this  sense  :  but  not  from  obedience  to  it  as  a 
rule  of  walk  and  conversation,  by  which  to  glori- 
fy God  and  express  our  thankfulness  to  him  for 
his  abundant  mercies." — Travellers  inform  us, 
that  in  Turkey  the  partisans  of  the  several  de- 
nominations there  are  distinguished  by  the  co- 
lour of  their  shoes  j  so  that  if  you  meet  any  per* 
son  in  the  streets,  you  need  only  look  at  his  feet 
to  know  of  what  religion  he  is.  And  may  not 
the  truth  of  grace  be  discerned,  to  at  least  an 
high. degree  of  probability,  by  the  life  and  con- 
versation of  those  who  make  a  religious  profes- 
sion ?  The  man  who  says  that  he  knows  God, 
and  in  works  denies  him  ;  who  calls  Christ  Lord, 
Lord,  but  does  not  the  thing  that  he  enjojfs; 
whose  voice  indeed  is  Jacob's  voice,  but  his 
hands  are  the  hands  of*  Esau  ;  resembles  our 
Saviour's  persecutors  and  murderers  of  old,  who 
bowed  their  knees  and  cried,  "  Hail,  king  of  the 
Jews  !"  while  they  spit  in  his  face,  and  smote 
him  with  the  palms  of  their  hands.  The  hypo- 
crite's profession  is  dark  and  opaque,  but  that 
of  a  real  saint  is  pellucid  and  transparent.     The 


*  A  very  capital  painter  in  London,  lately  exhibited  a  piece, 
representing  a  fryar  habited  in  his  canonicals.  View  the 
painting  at  a  distance,  and  yovi  would  think  the  fiyar  to  be  in 
a  praying  attitude  :  his  hands  are  clasped  together,  and  held 
horizontally  to  his  breast;  Ins  eyes  metkly  demissed,  like 
those  of  the  publican  in  the  gospel ;  and  the  good  man  ap- 
pears to  be  quite  absorbed  in  humble  adoration  and  dev(  ut 
recollection — But  take  a  nearer  survey  and  the  deception 
vanishes ;  the  book  which  seemed  to  lie  before  him,  is  disco- 
vered to  be  a  punch  bowl,  into  which  the  wretch  is  all  the 
while  in  reahty  onl)  squeezing  a  lemon. — How  lively  a  re- 
presentation of  an  hypocrite ! 


252 

rays  of  grace  in  a  genuine  believer  pervade  his 
whole  behaviour,  and  are  transmitted  through  all 
the  parts  of  his  practical  walk.  Though  every 
moral  man  is  not  therefore  a  Christian,  yet  every 
Christian  is  necessarily  a  rnoral  man. 

When  Flaminius,  the  Roman  general,  did  at 
the  isthmian  games  announce  freedom  to  Greece 
in  the  name  of  the  senate  and  people  of  Rome, 
the  transported  Greeks  received  the  glorious 
news  with  such  acclamations  of  gratitude,  and 
thunder  of  applause,  that  some  ravens,  which 
were  flying  over  the  Stadium,  dropped  down  to  the 
earth  stunned  and  senseless  :  the  very  games 
and  exercises  were  neglected,  and  nothing  but 
bursting  eclats  of  admiring  joy  engrossed  the 
day.— So,  when  the  Holy  Spirit  of  consolation 
announces  gospel  liberty,  and  eternal  redemption 
to  the  souls  of  the  awakened  the  love  of  sin, 
and  the  ravens  of  detested  lust,  fall  before  his 
sacred  influence.  Both  the  toils  and  the  plea- 
sures of  the  world  are  regarded  as  insignificant) 
when  set  in  competition  with  the  one  thing  need- 
ful. Holy  wonder,  love  and  joy  quite  engage 
the  powers  of  the  believer's  mind,  during  the 
spring-tide  consolations  of  his  first  manifestive 
espousals ;  and  a  sure  foundation  is  from  that 
moment  laid  for  the  performance  of  all  those 
good  works,  which  are  fruits  of  salvation  by 
grace.  While  faith  is  in  exercise,  and  a  sense  of 
divine  favour  is  warm  upon  the  heart ;  a  child 
of  God  is  as  much  steeled  to  the  allurements  of 
sin,  as  Octavius  was  cool  to  the  meretricious 
charms  of  Cleopatra. 

Thus,  conscientious  obedience,  though  neither 
the  cause  nor  condition  of  our  justification 
in  the  sight  of  God,  nor  of  our  admittance  inta 
his  glory  ;  is,  nevertheless,  an  essential  branch 
both  of  privilege  and  duty,  as  well  as  a  necessa- 


253 

py  indication  of  our  acceptance  in  the  beloved. 
This  is  the  point  of  view  in  which  our  church 
Considers  good  works  :  viz.  not  as  preceding 
conditions  of  salvation,  but  as  subsequent  testi- 
monies and  marks  of  salvation  already  obtained. 

Article  XII.  "  Of  good  works. — Albeit 
that  gobd  works,  which  are  the  fruits  of  faith, 
and  follow  after  justification,  cannot  put  away 
our  sins,  and  endure  the  severity  of  God's  judg- 
ment ;  yet  are  they  pleasing  and  acceptable  to 
God  in  Christ,  and  do  spring  out  necessarily  of  a 
true  and  lively  faith  :  insomuch  that  by  them  a 
lively  faith  may  be  as  evidently  known  as  a  tree 
discerned  by  its  fruit." 

VII.  What  think  you  concerning  the  tenet  of 
sinless  perfection  ?  which  supposes  that  the  very 
inbeing  of  sin  may  on  earth  be  totally  extermina- 
ted from  the  hearts  of  the  regenerate ;  and  that 
believers  may  here  be  pure  as  the  angels  that 
never  fell ;  yea,  (I  tremble  at  the  blasphemy)-—, 
holy  as  Christ  himself.  To  hold  this  heresy  is 
the  very  quintessence  of  delusion;  but  to  ima- 
gine ourselves  really  in  the  state  it  describes, 
were  the  very  apex  of  madness.  Yet  many  such 
there  are  :  some  such  I  myself  have  known. 

Indwelling  sin  and  unholy  tempers  do  most 
certainly  receive  their  death's  wound  in  regene- 
ration ;  but  they  do  not  quite  expire  till  the  re- 
newed soul  is  taken  up  from  earth  to  heaven. 
In  the  mean  time,  these  hated  remains  of  de- 
pravity will  too  often,  like  prisoners  in  a  dun- 
geon, crawl  toward  the  windows,  (though  in 
chains)  and  shew  themselves  through  the  grate. 
Nay,  I  do  not  know  whether  the  strivings  of  in- 
herent corruption  for  mastery,  be  not  frequently 
more  violent  in  a  regenerate  person,  than  even 
in  one  who  is  dead  in  trespasses ;  as  wild  beasts 
are  some  times  the  more  rampant  and  furious 


254 

for  being  wounded.  A  person  of  the  amplest 
fortune  cannot  help  the  harbouring  of  snakes, 
toads,  and  other  venomous  reptiles  on  his  lands  ; 
but  they  will  breed,  and  nestle,  and  crawl  about 
his  estate,  whether  he  will  or  no.  All  he  can  do 
is  to  pursue  and  kill  them,  whenever  they  make 
their  appearance  ?  yet,  let  him  be  ever  so  vigi- 
lant and  diligent*  there  will  always  be  a  succes- 
sion of  those  creatures  to  exercise  his  patience 
and  engage  his  industry.  So  is  it  with  the  true 
believer  in  respect  of  indwelling  sin. 

Would  you  see  a  perfect  saint  ?  you  "  must 
needs  go  out  of  the  world,"  then  you  must  go 
to  heaven  for  the  sight :  forasmuch  as  there  only 
are  "  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect."* 
This  earth  on  which  we  live  never  bore  but  three 
sinless  persons ;  our  first  parents  in  the  short  state 
of  innocence ;  and  Jesus  Christ  in  the  days  of 
his  abode  below.  Of  the  whole  human  race  be- 
side, it  always  was  and  ever  will  be  true,  that 
there  "  is  not  a  just  man  upon  earth,  who  doeth 
good  and  sinneth  not."  The  most  forward  and 
towering  professors  are  not  always  the  firmest 
and  most  solid  Christians.  Naturalists  tell  us, 
that  the  oak  is  a  full  century  in  growing  to  a 
state  of  maturity  ;  yet,  though  perhaps  the  slow- 
est it  is  one  of  the  noblest,  the  strongest,  and 
most  useful  trees  in  the  world.  How  prefera- 
ble to  the  flimsy,  water-shooting  willow  ! 

Our  church  enters  an  express  caveat  against 
the  pestilent  doctrine  of  perfection  in  her  15th 
article  entitled,  "  Of  Christ  alone  without  sin :" 
where  she  thus  delivers  her  judgment; 

"  Christ,  in  the  truth  of  our  nature,  was  made 
like  unto  us  in  all  things,  sin  only  excepted,  from 


*  Heb.  xii.  23: 


255 

which  he  was  clearly  void,  both  in  his  flesh  and 
his  spirit.  He  came  to  be  a  Lamb  without  spot, 
who,  by  sacrifice  of  himself  once  made,  should 
take  away  the  sins  of  the  world ;  and  sin,  as  St. 
John  saith,  was  not  in  him.  But  all  rue,  the  rest 
(although  baptized  and  born  again  in  Christ)  yet 
offend  in  many  things  ;  and  if  we  say  we  have 
no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not 
in  us." 

So,  it  is  declared,  about  the  middle  of  the 
ninth  article,  that  the  "  infection  of  nature  doth 
remain,  yea  in  them  that  be  regenerated." — Let 
me  just  mention, 

VIII*  One  more  particular,  contrary  to  sound 
dactrine :  I  mean  the  assertion  of  some  who 
would  fain  persuade  us  that  it  is  impossible  for 
us  to  receive  "  knowledge  of  salvation  by  the  re- 
mission of  sin."  Such  a  denial  is  very  opposite 
to  the  usual  tenor  of  God's  proceeding  with  his 
people  in  all  ages.  The  best  believers,  and  the 
strongest,  may  indeed  have  their  occasional  faint- 
ing-fits of  doubt  and  diffidence,  as  to  their  own 
particular  interest  in  Christ :  nor  should  I  have 
any  great  opinion  of  that  man's  faith,  who  was 
to  tell  me  that  he  never  had  any  doubts  at  all. 
But  still,  there  are  golden  seasons  when  the  soul 
is  on  the  mount  of  communion  with,  God  when 
the  Spirit  of  his  Son  shines  into  our  hearts,  and 
gives  us  boldness  and  access  with  confidence  by 
the  faith  of  him  }*  and  when  Sunt  sine  nube 
dies,  may  be  the  Christian's  exulting  motto. 
Moreover,  a  person  who  is  at  all  conversant  with 
the  spiritual  life,  knows  as  certainly  whether  he 
indeed  enjoys  the  light  of  God's    countenance, t 


Eph.  Hi.  12.  f  Psalm  lxxsix.  la. 


256 

or  whether  he  walks  in  darkness*  as  a  traveller 
knows  whether  he  travels  in  sunshine  or  in  rain. 
And,  as  a  great  and  good  mant  observes,  "  It  is 
no  presumption  to  read  what  was  God's  gracious 
purpose  towards  us  of  old,  when  he,  as  it  were, 
prints  his  secret  thoughts,  and  makes  them  legi- 
ble in  our  effectual  calling.  In  this  case  we  do 
not  go  up  into  heaven  and  pry  into  God's  se- 
crets ;  but  heaven  comes  down  to  us,  and  reveals 
them." 

It  may  indeed  be  objected,  that  the  scripture 
doctrine  of  assurance,  when  realized  into  an  ac- 
tual possession  of  the  privilege,  "  may  tend  to 
foster  pride,  and  promote  carelessness."  It  can- 
not lead  to  pride ;  for  all,  who  have  "  tasted  that 
the  Lord  is  gracious^"  know  by  undubitable  ex- 
perience (and  one  fact  speaks  louder  than  a  hun- 
dred speculations,)  that  believers  are  then  lowest 
at  God's  footstool,  whenfe  they  are  highest  on 
the  mount  of  assurance.  Much  indulgence  from 
earthly  parents  may  indeed  be  productive  of  real 
injury  to  their  children  ;  but  not  so  are  the  smiles 
of  God ;  for  the  sense  of  his  favour  sanctifies 
whilst  it  comforts.— -Nor  can  the  knowledge  of  in- 
terest in  his  love  tend  to  relax  the  sinews  of  mo- 
ral diligence,  or  make  us  heedless  how  we  behave 
ourselves  in  his  sight.  During  those  exalted  mo- 
ments, when  grace  is  in  lively  exercise,  when  the 
disciple  of  Christ  experiences 

&  The  soul's  calm  sunshine,  and  the  heart-felt  joy  ;** 

corrupt  nature  (that  man  of  sin  within,)  and  every 
vile  affection,  are  stricken,  as  it  were,  with  a  tem- 
porary apoplexy  :  and  the  believer  can  no  more, 
for  the  time  being,  commit  wilful  sin,  than  an  an- 


Isai.  1.  10.  f  Gumall,  Vol.  I.  p-  127- 


257 

gel  of  light  would  dip  his  wings  in  mud.  No  :  it 
is  when  we  come  down  from  the  mount,  and  mix 
again  with  the  world,  that,  like  Moses,  we  are 
in  danger  of  breaking  the  tables  of  the  law.  "  But 
is  it  not  enthusiasm  to  talk  of  holding  intercourse 
with  God,  and  of  knowing  ourselves  to  be  the  ob- 
jects of  his  special  love  ?"  No  more  enthusiasti- 
cal  (so  we  keep  within  scripture-bounds)  than  it  is 
for  a  favourite  child  to  converse  with  his  parents, 
and  to  know  that  they  have  a  particular  affection 
for  him.  Neither  in  the  strictest  reason  and  na- 
ture of  things,  is  it  at  all  absurd  to  believe  and 
expect,  that  God  can,  and  does,  and  will  commu- 
nicate his  favour  to  his  people,  and  "  manifest 
himself  to  them,  as  he  does  not  to  the  world"* 
at  large. 

Yet,  though  God  is  thus  graciously  indulgent 
to  many  of  his  people,  (I  believe,  to  all  of  them  at 
some  time  or  other,  between  their  conversion  and 
death)  still,  if  they  trespass  against  him,  he  will 
not  let  their  offences  pass  unnoticed  nor  uncor- 
rected. Though  grace  itself  is  inadmissible,  the 
comfort  of  it  may  be  sinned  away.  Salvation  is 
sure  to  all  the  redeemed ;  but  the  joy  of  it  may 
be  lost.  Psalm  li.  12.  "  Great  peace  have  they 
that  love  thy  law,"  and  they  only.  Holiness  and 
consolation  are  wisely  and  intimately  connected. 
In  proportion  as  we  are  enabled  to  live  near  to 
God,  to  walk  humbly  and  closely  with  him,  and  to 
keep  our  moral  garments  clean,  we  may  hope  for 
freedom  of  intercourse  with  him,  and  to  assure 
our  hearts  before  him,t  like  the  happy  believers  of 
old,  concerning  whom  it  is  said,  that  they  walked 
at  once  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  in  the  com" 
fort  of  the  Holy  Ghost4 


John  siv.  21,  22.        f  *&id  or-  19.        J  Acts  ix.  31. 
22 


258 

Let  not,  however,  what  has  been  observed  con- 
cerning the  blessing  of  assurance,  stumble  or  dis- 
courage the  feeble  of  God's  flock,  on  whom,  for 
reasons  wise  and  good,  it  may  not  hitherto  have 
been  his  pleasure  to  bestow  this  unspeakable  gift* 
The  scripture  plainly  and  repeatedly  distinguish- 
es between  faith  j  the  assurance  of  faith ;  and 
the  full  assurance  of  faith  :  and  the  first  may  ex- 
ist where  the  other  two  are  not.  I  know  some 
who  have  for  years  together  been  distressed  with 
doubts  and  fears,  without  a  single  ray  of  spirit- 
ual comfort  all  the  while.  And  yet,  I  can  no 
more  doubt  of  their  being  true  believers,  than  I 
can  question  my  own  existence  as  a  man.  I  am 
sure  they  are  possessed  not  only  of  faith  in  its 
lowest  degree,  but  of  that  which  Christ  himself 
pronounces  great  faith  ;*  for  they  can  at  least 
say,  "  Lord,  I  am  not  worthy  that  thou  shouldst 
come  under  my  roof;  but  speak  the  word  only, 
and  thy  servant  shall  be  healed."  Faith  is  the 
eye  of  the  soul ;  and  the  eye  is  said  to  see  almost 
every  object  but  itself:  so  that  you  have  real 
faith  without  being  able  to  discern  it.  Nor  will 
God  despise  the  day  of  small  things.  Little  faith 
goes  to  heaven  no  less  than  great  faith  ;  though 
not  so  confortably,  yet  altogether  as  surely.  If 
you  come  merely  as  a  sinner  to  Jesus,  and  throw 
yourself  at  all  events  for  salvation  on  his  alone 
blood  and  righteousness,  and  the  grace  and  pro- 
mise of  God  in  him ;  thou  art  as  truly  a  believer 
as  the  most  triumphant  saint  that  ever  lived. 
And,  amidst  all  your  weakness,  distresses  and 
temptations,  remember  that  God  will  not  cast  out, 
nor  cast  off  the  meanest  and  unworthiest  soul 


*  Mat.  viii.  8, 1Q. 


259 

that  seeks  salvation  only  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ  the  righteous.  When  you  cannot  follow 
the  rock,  the  rock  shall  follow  you ;  nor  ever  leave 
you,  for  so  much  as  a  single  moment  on  this  side 
the  heavenly  Canaan.  If  you  feel  your  absolute 
want  of  Christ,  you  may  on  all  occasions^  and  in 
every  exigence,  betake  yourself  to  the  covenant 
love  and  faithfulness  of  God  for  pardon,  sanctifi- 
tion  and  safety,  with  the  same  fulness  of  right 
and  title,  as  a  traveller  leans  upon  his  own  staff, 
or  a  weary  labourer  throws  himself  upon  his  own 
bed,  or  as  an  opulent  nobleman  draws  upon  his 
own  banker  for  whatever  sum  he  wants. — I  shall 
only  detain  you  farther,  while  I  warn  you ; 

IX.  Against  another  limb  of  Arminianism,  to- 
tally "  contrary  to  sound  doctrine."  I  mean 
that  tenet,  which  asserts  the  possibility  of  falling 
finally  from  a  state  of  real  grace*  God  does  not 
give,  and  then  take  away.  He  does  indeed  fre- 
quently resume  what  he  only  lent ;  such  as  health, 
riches,  friends,  and  other  temporal  comforts  ;  but 
what  he  gives,  he  gives  for  ever.  In  a  way  of 
grace,  "  the  gifts  and  calling  of  God  are  without 
repentance  :"*  He  will  never  repent  of  bestow- 
ing them  ;  and  every  attribute  he  has  forbids  him 
to  revoke  them.  The  blessings  of  his  favour 
are,  "  That  good  part  which  shall  not  be  taken 
from  those  that  have  it."f 

A  parent  of  moderate  circumstances  may  give 
his  children  something  to  set  up  with  in  the  world, 
and  address  them  to  this  effect ;  "  I  have  now 
done  for  you  all  that  is  in  my  power  to  do,  and 
gone  as  far  as  my  circumstances  will  allow ;  you 
must  from  henceforward  stand  on  your  own  feet, 


Rom.  xi.  29.  '  t  Luke  x.  4?, 


260 

and  be  good  husbands  of  the  old  stock.  The  pre- 
servation and  improvement  of  what  I  have  given 
you  must  be  left  to  chance  and  yourselves."  In  this 
very  view  does  Arminianism  represent  the  great 
Father  Almighty.  But  how  does  scripture  repre- 
sent him  ?  as  saying,  "  I  will  never  leave  thee^  or 
forsake  thee  I* — Even  to  your  old  age,  I  am  he ; 
and  even  to  hoary  hairs  will  I  carry  you  ;  I  have 
made,  and  I  will  bear,  even  I  will  carry  and  will 
deliver  you.f — "  My  sheep  hear  mj'  voice,  and  I 
know  them,  and  they  follow  me,  and  I  give  unto 
them  eternal  life,  and  they  shall  never  perish,  nei- 
ther shall  any  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand.":j:  In 
a  word,  if  any  of  God's  people  can  be  finallv 
lost,  it  must  be  occasioned  either  by  their  depart- 
ing from  God,  or  by  God's  departure  from  them. 
But  they  are  certainly  and  effectually  secure 
against  these  two,  and  these  only  possible  sources 
of   apostacy.     For,  thus   runs   the  covenant  of 

*  Heb.  xiii.  5.  f  Isa.  xlvi.  4. 

}  John  x.  28.  True,  said  an  Arminian  schismatic*  grown 
gray  in  the  service  of  error,  and  who  still  goes  up  and  down 
sowing-  his  tares,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour,  and  com- 
passing sea  and  land  to  make  proselytes  :  true,  Christ's 
sheep  "  cannot  be  plucked  forcibly  out  of  his  hand  by  others, 
but  they  themselves  may  slip  through  his  hands,  and  so  fall 
into  hell,  and  be  eternally  lost."  They  may  slit,  may  they  > 
as  if  the  Mediator,  in  preserving  his  people,  held  only  a  par- 
cel of  eels  by  the  tail !  Is  not  this  a  shameless  way  of  slipping 
through  a  plain  text  of  scripture  ?  But  1  would  fain  ask  the 
slippery  sophister,  how  we  are  to  understand  that  part  of  the 
last  cited  passage,  which  expressly  declares  concerning 
Christ's  people,  that  they  shall  never  perish?  since,  perish 
they  necessarily  must,  and  certainly  would,  if  eventually  se- 
parated from  Christ ;  whether  they  were  to  he  plucked  out  of 
his  hands,  or  whether  they  were  only  to  slip  through  them.  I 
conclude  then,  that  the  promise  made  to  the  saints  that  they 
shall  never  perish,  secures  them  equally  against  the  possibili- 
ty of  being  either  wrested  from  Christ's  hand,  or  of  their  own 
falling  from  it ;  since,  could  one  or  other  be  the  case,  perish 
they  must,  and  Christ's  promise  would  fall  to  the  ground. 


261 

grace ;  "  I  will  make  an  everlasting  covenant 
with  them,  that  I  will  not  turn  away  from  them, 
to  do  them  good ;  and  I  will  put  my  fear  in  their 
hearts,  that  they  shall  not  depart  from  me,  Jer. 
xxxii.  40.  Now,  if  God  will  neither  leave  them 
nor  suffer  them  to  leave  him  ;  their  final  perse- 
verance in  grace  to  glory  must  be  certain  and  in- 
fallible. 

Having  greatly  exceeded  the  limits  I  designed, 
I  shall  forbear  to  adduce  the   attestations  of  the 
church  of  England  to  the  doctrines  of  assurance 
and  preseverance  ;   especially,  seeing  I  have  done 
this  somewhat  largely  elsewhere.* — I  must  not 
however  conclude  without  observing,  That  irre- 
versible  justification  on  God's  part,   and  subjec- 
tive assurance  of  indefectibility  on  ours,  do  by  no 
means   invest  an  offending  Christian  with  immu- 
nity from    sufferings    and   chastisement.     Thus 
Nathan    said  to  David,  "  The    Lord  hath   put 
away  thy  sins  ;  thou  shalt  not  die  ;"    yet  was  he 
severely  scourged  though  not  disinherited  for  his 
transgressions.     The  tenor  of   God's  immutable 
covenant  with  the  Messiah,    and  with  his  people 
in  him,  is  this  :  "  His  seed  will  I  make  to  endure 
for  ever,   and  his  throne  as  the  days  of  heaven. 
If  his  children  forsake  my  law,    and  walk  not  in 
my  judgments  ;  if  they  break  my  statutes,  and 
keep   not  my  commandments  ;    then  will  I  visit 
their  ti'ansgression  with  the  rod,  and  their  iniqui- 
ty with  stripes  ;    nevertheless,  my  loving-kind- 
ness will  I  not  utterly  take  from  him,  nor  suffer 
my  faithfulness  to  fail.     My  covenant  will  I  not 
break,  nor  alter  the  thing  that  is  gone  out  of  my 


*  In  a  pamphlet  entitled,  the  church  of  England  vindicated 
from  the  charge   of  Jrmiaianism  :   where,  concerning  the 
doctrine  of  assurance,  seepages  125,   126;  and,  concerning 
*he  doctrine  of  perseverance,  see  pages  127—130. 
22  * 


262 

lips.  I  have  sworn  once  for  all  by  my  holiness, 
that  I  will  not  lie  unto"  Jesus  the  anti-typical 
David,  by  suffering  any  of  his  redeemed  people 
to  perish.*  Hence,  as  it  is  presently  added,  they 
shall  be  established  for  ever,  as  the  moon  ;  and 
as  the  faithful  witness  in  heaven ;  nay,  they  shall 
stand  forth  and  shine,  when  the  sun  is  turned  into 
darkness,  and  the  moon  into  blood ;  when  the 
stars  shall  drop  from  their  orbits,  and  the  pow- 
ers of  heaven  shall  be  shaken.  As  an  excellent 
person  somewhere  observes,  "  Our  own  unbe- 
lief may  occasionally  tear  the  copies  of  the  cove- 
nant given  us  by  Christ,  but  unbelief  cannot  come 
at  the  covenant  itself.  Christ  keeps  the  original 
deed  in  heaven  with  himself,  where  it  can  never 
be  lost." 

Upon  the  whole  :  are  these  things  so  ?  then, 

1.  How  great  and  how  deplorable  is  the  gene- 
ral departure  from  the  scripture  doctrines  of  the 
church  of  England,  and  the  first  principles  of 
the  reformation  ! 

2.  How  blessed  are  the  eyes  that  see,  how 
happy  are  the  hearts  that  feel,  the  propriety  and 
the  energy  of  these  inestimable  truths  !  And, 

3.  How  ought  such  to  demonstrate  their  gra- 
titude by  a  practical  glorification  of  God  in  their 
bodies  and  in  their  spirits,  which  are  his  !  Re- 
semble thunder  in  your  boldness  for  God,  and 
Y,our  zeal  for  truth ;  but  let  your  lives  shine  as 
lightning,  and  flash  conviction  in  the  faces  of 
those  who  falsely  accuse  your  good  conversation 
in  Christ,  and  as  falsely  charge  the  doctrines  ol 
God  with  a  licentious  tendency. — But  let  not 
your  zeal  be  of  the  inflammatory  kind ;  let  it  be 
tempered  with  unbounded  moderation,  gentle- 
ness  and    benevolence;  and  shine   forth  as  the 

*  Psalm  Ixxxis.  29,  35. 


263 


sun  with  healing  in  its  wings.  Remember  who 
it  is  that  hath  made  you  to  differ  from  others  ; 
and  that  "  a  man  can  receive  nothing  except  it 
be  given  him  from  heaven."  John  iii.  2f. 

Not  unto  us,  therefore,  O  Lord,  not  unto  us, 
but  to  thy  name  alone  be  the  praise  of  every 
gift,  and  of  every  grace  ascribed  ;  for  thy  loving 
mercy,  and  for  thy  truth's  sake.     Amen. 


-s<^CJi£-> 


POSTSCRIPT. 


TO    THE 

PARISHIONERS    OF    ST.    MATTHEW, 

BETHjXAL  GliEEJK'. 

Gentlemen, 

IjEFORE  the  preceding  sermon  could  get 
through  the  press,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Haddon  Smithy 
who,  it  seems,  serves  you  as  curate,  has  thought 
proper  to  publish  a  discourse  which  he  delivered 
in  opposition  to  this,  the  Sunday  after  I  had  the 
honour  of  preaching  it  before  you. 

It  would  render  that  unthinking,  but  I  would 
hope  well-meaning  gentleman,  much  too  consi- 
derable, were  I  either  to  address  him  by  name, 
or  descend  to  canvass  a  performance,  wherein 
heat  and  scurrility  endeavour  to  supply  the  total 
vacuity  of  argument. — For  Mr.  Smith  to  enter 


- 

264 

the  lists  with  such  exceeding  fierceness  against  a 
sermon  which  he  did  not  hear,  and  which,  hither- 
to, he  has  had  no  possible  opportunity  of  read- 
ing, discovers  a  weakness  and  temerity  in,  him, 
which  sink  him  as  low  beneath  my  notice,  as  the 
established  doctrines  of  our  excellent  church  rise 
superior  to  his  impotence  of  censure. — When 
the  gentleman  shall  appear  to  have  at  all  consi- 
dered the  important  articles  of  faith,  on  which 
he  has  presumed  to  animadvert ;  when  the  sails 
of  his  furious  zeal  shall  be  counterballasted  by 
some  little  degree  of  judgment,  and  when  he  has 
learned  to  express  himself,  if  not  with  Christian 
decency,  yet  with  common  grammatical  propri- 
ety, then,  and  not  till  then,  shall  I  deem  him  a 
proper  object  of  attention. 

You,  gentlemen,  can  testify,  that  I  never  once 
appeared  in  your  pulpit  but  at  your  own  particu- 
lar request;  a  request  which  i  could  not  possi- 
bly have  any  interested  motives  for  complying 
with,  as  I  never  accepted  of  the  smallest  gratuity 
for  my  attendance.  Is  it  for  this  that  the  enra- 
ged curate  has  repeatedly  traduced  me  from  the 
pulpit,  and  now  insults  me  from  the  press  ? 

For  my  own  part,  I  am  so  far  from  entertain- 
ing any  resentment  against  Mr.  Smith,  (with 
whom  I  do  not  remember  to  have  exchanged 
five  words  in  my  life,  and  whom  I  should  not 
even  know  at  sight,)  or  from  being  deterred  by  his 
unmerited  abuse,  that  should  I  live  to  see  Lon- 
don again,  I  shall  always  deem  myself  happy  to 
wait  on  you  as  usual,  whenever  either  your  own 
desire  or  the  interest  of  your  public  charity  may 
command.  And  as  so  many  of  you  have  fa- 
voured me  with  uncommon  civility  and  atten- 
tion, I  am  encouraged  to  offer  one  request ;  a 
request  not  in  behalf  of  myself,  but  of  Mr. 
Smith  j  viz.  that  his  ill-judged  and  unbecoming 


265 

warmth  may  not  so  far  alienate  your  affection 
from  his  person,  as  to  make  you  persist  in  with- 
drawing those  usual  proofs  of  your  beneficence, 
which  formerly  you  have  favoured  him  with,  and 
which,  I  am  sorry  to  be  informed,  have  of  late, 
through  his  defect  of  candour  and  humility,  been 
considerably  lessened. 

My  sermon  and  his  are  now  before  the  public. 
The  rashness  and  seeming  malignity  with  which 
he  appears  desirous  to  plunge  into  the  depths  of  an 
unequal  contest,  might,  in  the  opinion  of  some,  jus- 
tify me  in  the  amplest  severity  of  animadversion. 
But  I  spare  him.  I  cannot  prevail  with  myself 
to  render  "  evil  for  evil,  or  railing  for  railing.'* 
On  the  contrary,  I  wish  and  pray  that  divine 
grace  may  cause  him  to  partake  of  the  "  mind 
which  was  in  Christ  Jesus;"  and  that  he  may 
by  the  same  Almighty  influence,  be  made  to  ex- 
perience, to  believe,  and  to  preach,  the  inestima- 
ble truths  of  that  gospel  which  Jesus  taught. 

Mr.  John  Wesley,  (on  whose  plan  of  doctrine 
your  curate  seems  in  great  measure  to  have  form- 
ed his  own)  is  the  only  opponent  I  ever  had, 
whom  I  chastised  with  a  studious  disregard  to 
ceremony.  Nor  do  I  in  the  least  repent  of  the 
manner  in  which  I  treated  him.  To  have  refu- 
ted the  forgeries  and  perversions  of  such  an  as- 
sailant tenderly,  and  with  meekness,  falsely  so 
called  j  would  have  been  like  shooting  at  a  high- 
wayman with  a  pop-gun,  or  like  repelling  the 
sword  of  an  assassin  with  a  straw.  I  rather 
blame  myself,  on  a  review,  for  handling  Mr. 
Wesley  too  gently,  and  for  not  acquainting  the 
world  with  all  I  know  concerning  the  man  and 
his  communication.  I  only  gave  him  the  whip, 
when  he  deserved  a  scorpion. 

But  as  to  Mr.  Smith,  he  hitherto,  amidst  all 
his  ignorance  and  unguardedness,  merits  a  milde: 


266 

treatment.  Want  of  talents  and  of  thought  ap- 
pear in  every  paragraph  of  his  sermon  :  but  I 
am  willing  to  believe  him  not  wholly  destitute  of 
integrity.  Though  he  opposes  the  doctrines  of 
the  church  of  England  with  virulence,  yet  he 
seems  to  do  so  from  principle.  Under  this  per- 
suasion, I  at  present  give  him  rope.  Hereafter, 
should  he  rise  into  any  thing  like  a  respectable 
antagonist,  I  may,  perhaps,  hook  him,  and  pull 
him  in — Till  then  I  take  my  leave  both  of  the 
curate  and  of  his  preachment,  with  that  justly  ad- 
mired line,  which  is  at  once  equally  picturesque 
of  his  behaviour,  and  expressive  of  my  fixed  de- 
termination. 

Du  loqueris  Lapides  Ego  Byssina  Verba  repo- 
nam. 

I  am,  with  much  respect  and  regard, 
Gentlemen, 

Your  obliged  and  obedient  servant, 

AUGUSTUS  TOPLADY. 

Broad-Hembury,  Jug.  31, 1770. 


LETTER 

■a 

TO    THE 

REV.   JOHN  WESLEY: 

RELATIVE    TO    HIS    PRETENDED 

ABRIDGMENT    OP 

ZANCHIUS    ON  PREDESTINATION. 

■ 


BY   AUGUSTUS  TOPLADY,  A.  B. 

VICAR  OF  BROAD-HEMBURY,  DEVON. 

— HMMtM* — 

Sic  fatus  senior,  Telumque  imbelle  fine  Ictu 
Conjecit :  rauco  quod  protinus  aere  repulsum ; 
£t  summo  Clypei  nequicqaam  Umbone  pependit. 

JEneid  J  J. 
Credulitate,  puer;  Audacia,  juvenis;  Delirius,  senex. 
Mr.  J)e  Boze's  Epitaph  onHardovin,  the  French  Jetiiit, 


MEW-YOlLK* 

PUBLISHED  BT  GEORGE  LINDSAV 

Paul  8  Thomas,  Frinterf. 
1811. 


ADVERTISEMENT 


PRESENT  EDITION. 


i^  IXE  months  are  now  elapsed  since  the  first  publication 
of*  this  letter:  in  all  which  time,  Mr.  W.  has  neither  apolo- 
gized for  the  misdemeanor  which  occasioned  his  hearing 
from  me  in  this  public  manner,  nor  attempted  to  answer  the 
charge  entered  against  him.  Judging,  probably,  that  the 
former  would  be  too  condescending  in  one  who  has  erected 
himself  into  the  leader  of  a  sect ;  and  that  the  latter  would 
prove  rather  too  difficult  a  task,  and  involve  him  in  a  subse- 
quent train  of  fresh  detections ;  he  has  prudently  omitted 
both 

Some  of  his  followers,  however,  have  not  been  so  tamely 
unactive  on  this  occasion  as  their  pastor.  Anxious  at  once 
to  palliate  his  offence,  and  to  screen  his  timidity ;  several 
penny  and  two-penny  defences  have  successively  appeared  : 
wherein  the  anonymous  scribblers  wretchedly  endeavoured 
to  gather  up,  and  put  together,  the  fragments  of  a  shattered 
reputation.  The  very  printers,  the  midwives  who  handed 
these  "  insects  of  a  day"  into  public  existence,  were  asha- 
med to  subjoin  their  names  at  the  bottom  of  the  title  pages. 

Two  L  iy-Pieachers,  in  particular,  have  feebly  taken  up 
the  cudgels  for  their  master.  Of  one  I  shall  say  very  little, 
as  he  writes  with  some  degree  of  decency — Of  the  other,  I 
shall  not  say  much  ;  for  both  his  talents  and  his  morals  sink 
him  far  below  the  dignity  of  chastisement.  This  illiterate 
"  haberdasher  of  small  wares"  entitles  his  penny  effusion,  as 
well  as  1  remember,  "  A  letter  of  thanks  to  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Toplady,  in  the  names  of  all  the  hardened  sinners  in  London 
and  Westminster."  The  poor  creature,  it  is  plain  from  his 
title-page,  aims  at  humour  ;  and  yet  unhappily  for  such  a  de- 
sign, he  is  in  reality  but  too  literally  qualified  to  act  as  a  sec- 
retary in  chief  to  the  sinners  of  London  and  Westminster. 
For  he  has  given  very  numerous  and  ample  proofs  of  his 

23 


270 

own  sinnership,  and  that  there  can  hardly  exist  in  those  two 
cities  a  more  atrocious  sinner  than  himself.  1  will  not  pol- 
lute this  paper  with  a  recital  of  his  crimes.  They  who 
know  the  man  are  no  strangers  to  his  communication. 
Though  a  doctrinal  Pharisee,  his  life  has  long  ago  evinced 
him  a  practical  Sadducee.  Surely,  Arminianism  is  like  to 
flourish  mainly  under  the  auspices  of  such  able  and  virtu* 
©us  advocates! 
And  so  much  for  Mr.  Wesley's  redoubtable  subalterns. 

*•  What  image  of  their  fury  can  we  form  ? 
Dulness  and  rage.     A  puddle  in  a  storm." 

If  my  advice  carries  any  weight  with  them,  they  will  care- 
fully  peruse  their  Spelling-books,  before  they  make  another 
sally  from  the  press.  As  to  themselves,  and  their  refined 
productions,  1  mean  to  take  no  farther  notice  of  either.  I 
am  quite  of  Air.  Ga\'s  opinion ; 

"  To  shoot  at  crows  is  powder  thrown  away.'* 

I  had  almost  forgot  the  Monthly  Reviewers.  One  word 
concerning  them,  and  I  have  done.  The  two  Reverend  gen- 
tlemen who  are  hired  to  dissect  and  characterize  whatever 
comes  within  the  divinity  department,  a  Calendis  ad  Calendas  ,- 
would  fain  have  it,  in  their  superficial  strictures  on  the  first 
edition  of  this  letter,  that  I  am  angry  with  Mr.  Wesley.  If 
by  anger  the  ingenious  animadverters  mean  a  just  and  be- 
coming disapprobation  of  Mr.  Weslej'shing  abridgment,  and 
of  the  surreptitious  manner  in  which  he  smuggled  it  into  the 
world  ;  I  acknowledge  myself  in  this  respect  angry.  1  hope 
the  Reverend  Reviewers  will  not  in  their  turn  be  angry  too, 
at  seeing  themselves  tacked  to  the  list  of  Mr.  Wesley's  al- 
lies :  since  in  their  mode  of  representing  my  dispute  (or  to 
adopt  their  own  military  term,  my  battle)  with  that  gentle- 
man, they  seem  to  rank  themselves  in  the  number  of  his 
seconds.  The  reason  is  obvious.  Mr.  W.  is  a  red-hot  Ar- 
minian  :  and  the  sagacious  Doctors  can  discern,  with  half  an 
eye,  that  Arminianism  lies  within  a  bow-shot  of  Socinianism 
and  Deism.  Yet  notwithstanding  the  alliance  is  thus  not  al- 
together unnatural,  why  should  these  two  Divines,  who  are 
cei'tainly  possessed  of  abilities  which  might  do  honour  to 
Jmman  nature,  by  a  narrow,  sordid  attachment  to  party",  ren- 
der those  abilities  less  respectable  ? 

Jiroad-Hemburj/,  Jan.  9,  1772. 


LETTER 


REV.  JOHN  WESLEY. 

Sir, 

POSSIBLY,  the  following  letter  may  fall  into 
the  hands  of  some  who  are  unacquainted  with  the 
merits  of  the  occasion  on  which  I  write.  For 
the  information  of  such,  I  must  premise,  that  in 
November,  1769,  I  published  a  two  shilling 
pamphlet,  entitled.  "  The  Doctrine  of  Absolute 
Predestination  stated  and  asserted :  With  a 
Preliminary  discourse  on  the  Divine  Attributes. 
Translated,  in  great  measure,  from  the  Latin  of 
Jerom  Zanchius." 

Though  you  are  neither  mentioned  nor  alluded 
to  throughout  the  whole  book,  yet  it  could 
hardly  be  imagined,  that  a  treatise,  apparently 
tending  to  lay  the  axe  to  the  root  of  those  per- 
nicious doctrines,  which,  for  more  than  thirty 
years  past  you  have  endeavoured  to  palm  on 
your  credulous  followers,  with  all  the  sophistry  of 
a  Jesuit,  and  the  dictatorial  authority  of  a  Pope  ; 
should  long  pass  without  some  censure  from 
the  hand  of  a  restless  Arminian,  who  has  so  ea- 
gerly endeavoured  to  distinguish  himself,  as  the 
bell-wether  of  his  deluded  thousands, 


272 

Accordingly  in  the  month  of  March,  1770, 
out  sneaks  a  printed  paper  (consisting  of  one 
sheet,  folded  into  twelve  pages,  price  one  penny) 
entitled,  "  The  Doctrine  of  Absolute  Predesti- 
nation   stated    and   asserted   by  the   Rev.   Mr. 

A. T ."  Wherein  you  pretend  to  give 

an  abridgment  of  the  pamphlet  above  referred 
to.     But, 

I.  Why  did  you  not  make  your  abridgment 
truly  public  ?  For  an  apparent  reason  :  That,  if 
possible,  it  might  elude  my  knowledge,  and  so 
escape  the  rod.  Born  of  a  stolen  embrace,  it 
was  needful  for  the  spurious,  pusillanimous 
performance  to  steal  its  way  into  the  world.  It 
privately  crept  abroad  from  the  Foundry,  the 
seat  of  its  nativity;  it  was  sold  indeed,  but  sold 
under  the  rose  ;  it  was  carefully  circulated  in  the 
dark ;  and  the  friends  of  Mr.  Wesley  were 
designed  to  be  the  sole  sphere  of  its  acquaint- 
ance. Thus  "  Every  one  that  doeth  evil  hateth 
the  light,  neither  cometh  to  the  light,  lest  his 
deeds  should  be  reproved."  In  such  conduct  I 
can  discern  much  of  the  Jesuit,  but  nothing  of 
the  saint.  I  had  to  this  hour  remained  unap- 
prized  of  the  secret  stab,  but  for  the  information 
received  from  some  of  superior  integrity  to  your- 
self.— £  will  put  Christianity  quite  out  of  the 
question,  and  suppose  it  to  have  no  kind  of  in- 
fluence. But  should  you  not,  at  least,  act  as  a 
man  of  common  honour  ?  Come  forth  openly, 
Sir,  in  future,  like  an  honest,  generous  assailant ; 
and,  from  this  moment  forward,  disdain  to  act 
the  ignoble  part  of  a  lurking,  sly  assassin. 

II.  Why  did  you  not  abridge  me  faithfully 
and  fairly  ?  Why  must  you  lard  your  ridiculous 
compendium  with  additions  and  interpolations  of 
your  own  ?  especially  as  you  took  the  libertv  of 


273 

prefixing  my  name  to  it  ?  your  reasons  are  obvi- 
ous. My  publication  had  spread  among  some 
of  your  people  ;  and  the  longer  it  continued  to 
diffuse  itself  the  more  you  trembled  for  your  Dia- 
na. Hence,  Demetrius  like,  you  found  it  need- 
ful, by  the  help  of  a  pious  fraud,  to  prejudice 
your  Ephesians  against  the  doctrines  of  St.  Paul. 
The  book  was  like  to  give  the  Arminian  Babel  a 
shake  ;  therefore  no  way  so  effectual  to  secure  it, 
as  by  endeavouring  to  spike  the  canon  which 
was  planted  against  it.  That  you  might  seem  to 
gratify  the  curiosity  of  your  partisans,  and  keep 
them  really  hood-winked  at  the  same  time,  you 
draw  up  a  flimsy,  partial  compendium  of  Zan- 
chius;  a  compendium  which  exhibits  a  few  de- 
tached propositions,  placed  in  the  most  disadvan- 
tageous point  of  view,  and  without  including  any 
part  of  the  evidences  on  which  they  stand. 

But  this  alone  was  not  sufficient  to  compass 
the  desired  end.  Unsatisfied  with  carefully  and 
totally  suppressing  every  proof  alleged  by  Zan- 
chius  in  support  of  his  argument,  a  false  co- 
louring must  likewise  be  superinduced,  by  insert- 
ing a  sentence  or  two,  now  and  then,  of  your  own 
foisting  in.  After  which  you  close  the  motley 
piece,  with  an  entire  paragraph,  forged  every 
word  of  it  by  yourself;  and  conclude  all,  as  you 
began,  with  subjoining  the  initials  of  my  name  ^ 
to  make  the  ignorant  believe,  that  the  whole,  with 
your  omissions,  additions,  and  alterations,  actu- 
ally came  from  me.  An  instance  of  audacity 
and  falsehood  hardly  to  be  paralleled  ! 

I  am  very  far  from  desiring  the  reader  to  take 
my  word  in  proof  of  the  charge  alleged  against- 
you.  As  an  instance  of  your  want  of  honour., 
veracity,  and  justice,  I  refer  to  the  following 
paragraph,  1.  As  published  by  me;  and  2.  As 
quoted  by  you. 

23   * 


274 


l. 
Ci  When  all  the  trans- 
actions of  Providence 
and  grace  are  wound  up 
in  the  last  day ;  he 
(Christ)  will  then  pro- 
perly sit  as  Judge,  and 
openly  publish  and  so- 
lemnly ratify,  if  I  may 
so  say,  his  everlasting 
decrees,  by  receiving 
the  elect,  body  and  soul, 
into  glory :  and  by  pass- 
ing sentence  on  the  non- 
elect  (not  for  having 
done  xvhat  they  could 
not  help,  but)  for  their 
wilful  ignorance  of  di- 
vine things,  and  their 
obstinate  unbelief;  for 
their  omissions  of  mo- 
ral duty,  and  for  their 
repeated  iniquities  and 
transgressions."  Doctr. 
of  Abs.  Pred.  page  93. 


2. 
"  In  the  last  day 
Christ  will  sit  as  Judge, 
and  openly  publish 
and  solemnly  ratify  his 
everlasting  decrees,  by 
receiving  the  elect  in- 
to glory,  and  by  pass- 
ing sentence  on  the 
non-elect,  {not  for  ha- 
ving done  what  theij 
could  not  help,  but)  for 
their  wilful  ignorance 
of  divine  things,  and 
their  obstinate  unbelief; 
for  their  omissions  of 
moral  duty,  and  for  their 
repeated  iniquities  and 
transgressions  which 
they  could  not  help." 
Wesley's  Abridgment, 
page  9. 


Whether  my  view  of  the  doctrine  itself  be,  in 
fact,  right  or  wrong,  is  no  part  of  the  present  in- 
quiry :  the  question  is,  have  you  quoted  me  fair- 
ly ?  Blush,  Mr.  Wesley,  if  you  are  capable  of 
blushing.  For  once  publicly  acknowledge  your- 
self to  have  acted  criminally :  "  Unless,"  to  use 
your  own  words  on  another  occasion,  "  Shame 
and  you  have  shook  hands  and  parted." 

Your  concluding  paragraph,  which  you  have 
the  effrontery  to  palm  on  the  world  as  mine,  runs 


275 

thus:  *"The  sum  of  all  this :  One  In  twenty  (sup- 
pose) of  mankind  are  elected  ;  nineteen  in  twen- 
ty are  reprobated.  The  elect  shall  be  saved,  do 
what  they  will ;  the  reprobate  shall  be  damned, 
do  what  they  can.  Reader,  believe  this,  or  be 
damned.     Witness  my  hand,    A T ." 

In  almost  any  other  case,  a  similar  forgery 
would  transmit  the  criminal  to  Virginia  or  Ma- 
ryland, if  not  to  Tyburn.  If  such  an  opponent 
can  be  deemed  an  honest  man,  where  shall  we  find 
a  knave  ? — What  would  you  think  of  me,  was  I 
infamous  enough  to  abridge  any  treatise  of  yours, 
sprinkle  it  with  interpolations,  and  conclude  it 
thus  :  "  Reader,  buy  this  book  or  be  damned. 
Witness  my  hand,  John  Wesley !" 

And  is  it  thus  you  contend  for  victory  ?  are 
these  the  weapons  of  your  warfare  ?  Is  this 
bearing  down  those  who  differ  from  you  with 
meekness  ?  Do  you  call  this  binding  with  cords 
of  love  :  Away,  for  shame,  with  such  disinge- 
nuous artifices.  At  least  endeavour  to  conceal 
that  narrow,  sectarian  spirit,  which  betrays  itself, 
more  or  less,  in  almost  every  thing  you  write. 
Renounce  the  low,  serpentine  cunning,  which 
puts  you  on  falsifying  what  you  find  yourself 
unable  to  refute.  And  as  you  regard  your  cha- 
racter, and  the  cause  you  espouse,  dismiss  those 
dirty  subterfuges,  (the  last  resources  of  mean, 
malicious  impotence)  which  degrade  the  man  of 
parts  into  a  lying  sophister,  and  sink  a  divine  be- 
neath the  level  of  an  oyster-woman.  Cease  to 
fight,  like  the  French,  with  old  nails  and  broken 
glass.  Charge  fairly,  and  fire  as  forcible  as  you 
can.  But,  if  you  persist  to  employ  the  weapons 
of  scurrility  and  falsehood  ;  the  splinters  will  not 


Wesley's  Abridgment,  page  12. 


276 

only  recoil  on  yourself,  but  you  will  continue  t<a 
be  posted  for  a  theological  coward. 

And  why  should  you  of  all  people  in  the 
world,  be  so  very  angry  with  the  doctrines  of 
grace  ?  Forget  not  the  days  and  months  that  are 
past.  Remember  that  it  once  depended  on  the 
toss  of  a  shilling,  whether  you  yourself  should 
be  a  Calvinist  or  an  Arminian.  Tails  fell  up" 
permost,  and  you  resolved  to  be  an  Universalist. 
'Twas  an  happy  throw  which  consigned  you  to 
the  tents  of  Arminius  ;  for  it  saved  us  from 
the  company  of  a  man,  who,  by  a  kind  of  reli- 
gious gambling,  peculiarly  his  own,  risqued  his 
faith  on  the  most  contemptible  of  all  lots  ;  and 
was  capable  of  tossing  up  for  his  creed,  as  port- 
ers or  chairmen  toss  up  for  an  halfpenny. 

I  have  read  of  princes  and  other  eminent  per- 
sons who,  having  risen  from  ignoble  life  to  great- 
ness, took  care  to  have  some  striking  memorials 
of  their  former  obscurity  frequently  in  their 
view,  by  way  of  a  counterpoise  to  prider  and  as 
a  preservative  from  being  exalted  above  mea- 
sure. When,  from  the  pinnacle  or  your  own  im- 
portance, you  look  down  upon  the  advocates  for 
free  grace,  and  consider  them  as  reptiles,  to  be 
treated  as  you  please,  only  recollect  the  hum- 
bling circumstance  of  which  I  have  just  remind- 
ed you  ;  and  repress  the  complacent  swellings  of 
self-adulation,  by  some  such  soliloquy  as  this  ; 
u.  I  have  been  in  danger  myself  of  believing 
that  St.  Paul  says  true,  when  he  declares  that 
God  hath  mercy  on  whom  he  will  have  mercy. 
How  precious  was  the  shilling,  and  above  all, 
how  lucky  was  the  throw,  which  convinced  me 
of  St.  Paul's  mistake  !"  Forgive  us,  if  we  as 
implicitly  determine  our  faith  by  the  scriptures, 
as  you  determined  yours  by  the  fall  of  the  splen.- 
did  shilling* 


277 

But,  even  since  this  memorable  epocha,  you 
have  by  no  means  proved  yourself  that  steady 
Arminian  you  would  have  the  world  believe. 
Proteus  like,  you  disdain  to  be  shackled  and  cir- 
cumscribed by  any  certain  form.  Her  ladyship 
of  Loretto,  though  she  has  a  different  suit  for 
every  day  in  the  year,  is  semper  cadvm,  when 
compared  with  the  quondam  Fellow  of  Lincoln 
College.  There  are  times  when  you  vary  as 
much  from  your  preceding  self,  as  you  do  at  all 
times  from  the  rest  of  mankind.  Possessed  of 
more  than  serpentine  elability,  you  cast  your 
slough,  not  once  a  year,  but  almost  once  an  hour. 
Hence  your  innumerable  inconsistencies,  and  fla- 
grant self-contradictions,  the  jarring  of  your 
principles  (ever  at  intestine  war  with  each  other) 
and  the  incoherence  of  your  religious  system. 
Your  scheme  of  doctrines  reminds  me  of  the 
feet  of  a  certain  visionary  image,  which  as  the 
sacred  penman  acquaints,  seemed  to  be  compo- 
sed of  iron  and  clay  5  heterogeneous  materials, 
which  may  indeed  be  put  together,  but  will  ne- 
ver incorporate  with  each  other.  Somewhat  like 
the  necromantic  soup,  of  which  you  have  proba- 
bly read  in  the  tragedy  of  Macbeth  ;  your  doc- 
trines may  be  stirred  into  a  chaotic  jumble,  but 
witchcraft  itself  would  strive  in  vain  to  bring 
them  into  coalition.  On  the  contrary,  evangeli- 
cal truth  knows  nothing  of  this  Harlequin  as- 
semblage. It  is  not,  like  Joseph's  coat,  of  many 
colours,  nor  made  up  of  a  patch  from  Donatus, 
of  another  from  Pelagius,  and  a  third  from 
Arminius  :  but  is  invariably  simp'e,  uniform 
and  harmonious  ;  resembling  the  robe  of  its  ado- 
rable teacher,  which  was  without  seam,  and  wo- 
ven from  the  top  throughout. 

On  one  occasion,  you  had  the  candour  to  own 
your  levity  as  to  points  of  faith.     I  am  acquaint- 


278 

cd  with  a  very  respectable  person  (Mr.  J.  D.) 
who,  not  many  years  ago,  taking  the  freedom  to 
tell  you,  that  "  Your  prejudices,  like  armed  men, 
stood  with  their  swords  ready  drawn,  to  guard 
all  the  passes  of  conviction,  and  hew  down  every 
truth  as  fast  as  it  presented  itself  to  your  mind  ;" 
you  had  the  usual  honesty  to  answer,  "  Ah  ! 
Sir,  if  you  knew  how  distressed  I  have  been, 
what  doctrines  I  should  embrace,  and  how  I 
have  been  tossed  about  from  system  to  system, 
you'd  think  me  the  most  open  to  conviction,  and 
the  least  liable  to  prejudice,  of  any  man  you 
ever  knew."  This  answer  did  you  real  honour, 
for  I  am  persuaded  you  spoke  true.  Yet,  why 
should  you,  who  have  been  so  remarkably  tossed 
about,  take  upon  you  to  revile  those  who  have 
been  enabled  to  stand  fast  ?  I  hope  for  your  own 
sake,  that  you  will  never  cease  tossing  about  till 
you  have  gained  the  harbour  of  truth  ;  and  that, 
amidst  all  your  manifold  shifting  from  system  to 
system,  you  will  at  length  be  enabled  to  fix  on 
the  only  right  system,  which  asserts  the  lawful- 
ness of  God's  doing  what  he  will  with  his  own. 
I  am  told,  the  penny-sheet  (which  occasions 
this  free  address)  is  to  be  followed  some  time 
hence,  by  a  four-penny  pamphlet  against  Zan- 
chius ;  wherein  you  are  to  besiege  the  doctrine 
of  predestination  in  form.  Commence  the  siege 
and  welcome.  Open  your  trenches  and  plant 
your  batteries.  Bring  forth  your  strong  argu- 
ments, and  play  them  off  with  vigour.  I  pub- 
licly profess  and  subscribe  my  name  to  it,  that, 
if  I  cannot  heat  you  back,  I'll  freely  capitulate, 
and  own  myself  conquered.  But  remember,  that 
if  you  would  do  any  thing  to  purpose,  you  must 
make  a  regular  attack.  You  must  encounter  the 
whole  of  Zanchius,  and  take  his  arguments  in 
their  regular  connexion  and  dependency  on  each 


279 

ether.  You  must  go  through  with  my  preface, 
which  I  prefixed  to  my  translation  of  that  great 
man.  Having  carried  and  dismantled  the  out- 
work, you  must  next  proceed  to  demolish  the  Dis- 
sertation on  the  Divine  Attributes ;  which  ha- 
ving destroyed,  you  are  then  to  assail  the  cita- 
del j  I  mean,  those  five  stubborn  chapters,  which 
make  up  the  body  of  the  treatise  itself.  All 
the  allies,  or  the  arguments  drawn  from  scripture 
and  reason,  must  likewise  be  put  to  the  sword. 
This  should  you  attempt, to  do  in  a  manner  wor- 
thy of  a  scholar  and  a  divine,  I  shall  have  no 
objection  (if  life  and  health  continue)  to  mea- 
suring swords,  or  breaking  a  pike  with  you. 
Controversy,  properly  conducted,  is  a  friend  to 
truth,  and  no  enemy  to  benevolence.  When  the 
flint  and  the  steel  are  in  conflict,  some  sparks 
may  issue  which  may  both  warm  and  enlighten. 
But  I  have  no  notion  of  encountering  a  wind- 
mill in  lieu  of  a  giant.  If,  therefore,  you  come 
against  me  (as  now)  with  straws  instead  of  ar- 
tillery ;  and  with  chaff  in  the  rooni  of  ammuni- 
tion ;  I  shall  disdain  to  give  you  battle  :  I  shall 
only  laugh  at  you  from  the  ramparts. 

Much  less,  if  you  descend  to  your  customary- 
recourse  of  false  quotations,  despicable  invec- 
tive, and  unsupported  dogmatisms,  shall  I  hold 
myself  obliged  to  again  enter  the  list  with  you. 
An  opponent  who  thinks  to  add  weight  to  his 
arguments  by  scurrility  and  abuse,  resem- 
bles the  insane  person,  who  rolled  himself  in 
mud  in  order  to  make  himself  fine.  1  would 
no  more  enter  into  a  formal  controversy  with 
such  a  scribbler,  than  I  would  contend  for  the 
wall  with  a  chimney-sweeper. 

When  some  of  your  friends  gave  out,  two  or 
three  months  before  your  late  doughty  publica- 
tion, that  Mr.  John  (as  they  call  you)  was  shut- 


280 

ting  himself  up,*  in  order  to  answer  the  Trans- 
lator of  Zanchius  ;  I  really  imagined  that  some- 
thing tolerably  respectable  was  going  to  make  its 
appearance.     But 

Quid  dignum  tanto  tulit  hie  Promissory    Hiatu  ? 

After  the  teeming  mountain  had  been  shut  up 
a  competent  time,  long  enough  to  have  been 
brought  to  bed  of  an  Hercules,  forth  creeps  a 
puny,  toothless  mouse,  a  mouse  of  heterogene- 
ous kind  ;  having  little  more  than  its  head  and 
tailt  from  you;  and  the  main  of  its  body  made 
up  of  some  mangled,  castrated  citations  from 
Zanchius. 

Currente  Rota,  cur  Urceus  exit  ? 

If  I  may  judge  of  the  future  by  the  past,  and 
unless  you  amend  greatly  in  a  short  time,  your 
four-penny  Supplement,  when  it  appears,  will  be 
no  less  inconsiderable  than  the  penny  sheet  al- 
ready extant.  And,  as  the  mouse  is  not  cheap 
at  a  penny,  I  am  very  apprehensive,  the  rat, 
when  it  ventures  out,  will  be  too  dear  at  a  groat. 

Hitherto,  your  treatment  of  Zanchius  resem- 
bles that  of  some  clumsy,  bungling  anatomist, 
who,  in  the  dissection  of  an  animal,  dwells  much 
on  the  larger  and  more  obvious  particulars  ;  but 
quite  omits  the  nerves,  the  lymphatics,  the  mus- 
cles, and  the  most  interesting  parts  of  the  com- 
plicate machine.     Thus,  in  your  piddling  extract 


*  Dreadful  his  thunder,  while  imprinted,  roar  ; 

15ut  when  once  publish'd,  they  are  heard  no  more. 

So,  distant  bug-bears  fright ;  but  neai  er  draw, 

The  block's  a  block,  and  turns  to  mirth  jour  awe. 

Dr.  Young. 

j  The  Advertisement,  on  the   bark  side  of  Mr.  Wesley'? 
Title-page:  and  his  concluding  Paragraph,  p.  12. 


281 

from  the  pamphlet  you  have  thought  proper  to 
curtail,  you  only  give  a  few  of  the  larger  out- 
lines, without  at  all  entering  into  the  spirit 
of  the  subject,  or  so  much  as  producing  (so  far 
from  attempting  to  refute)  any  of  the  turning 
points,  on  which  the  argument  depends.  Wrench 
the  finest  eye  that  ever  shone  in  a  lady's  head, 
from  its  socket,  and  it  will  appear  frightful  and 
deformed ;  whereas,  in  its  natural  connexion,  the 
symmetry  and  brilliancy,  the  expressiveness  and 
the  beauty,  are  conspicuous.  So  it  often  fares 
with  authors.  A  detached  sentence,  artfully  mis- 
placed, or  unseasonably  introduced  ;  maliciously 
applied,  or  unfairly  cited  ;  may  appear  to  carry 
an  idea  the  very  reverse  of  its  real  meaning. 
But  replace  the  dislocated  passage,  and  its  pro- 
priety and  importance  are  restored.  I  would 
wish  every  unprejudiced  person,  into  whose  hands 
your  Abridgment  of  my  translation  has  fallen, 
to  suspend  his  judgment  concerning  it,  till  he 
sees  the  translation  itself.  On  comparing  the 
two  together,  he  will  at  once  perceive  how  can- 
did and  honest  you  are ;  and  what  quantity  of 
confidence  may  be  reposed  on  your  integrity  as 
a  citer. 

When  I  advert  to  the  unjust  and  indecent  man- 
ner in  which  you  attacked  the  late  Mr.  Hervey ; 
above  all,  when  I  consider  how  daringly  free  you 
have  made  with  the  scriptures  themselves,  both 
in  your  commentaries,  and  in  your  alterations  of 
the  text  itself;  I  cease  to  wonder  at  the  auda- 
cious licentiousness  of  your  pen  respecting  me. 
I  should  rather  wonder,  if  you  treated  any  oppo- 
nent with  equity,  or  canvassed  any  subject  im- 
pai-tially.  Rise  but  once  to  this,  and  I  shall  both 
wonder  and  rejoice. 

You  give  me  to  understand,  that  I  am  but  "  a 
young  translator."  Granted.  Better,  however^ 
24 


262 

to  be  a  young  translator,  than  an  old  plagiary. 
Which  of  our  ancient  divines  have  you  not  eva- 
porated and  spoiled  ?  and  made  them  speak  a  lan- 
guage, when  dead,  which  they  would  have  start- 
ed from,  with  horror,  when  alive  :* 

"  Yet  Brutus  is  an  honourable  man." 

How  miserably  have  you  pillaged  even  my  pub- 
lication ?  Books,  when  sent  into  the  world,  are 
no  doubt,  in  some  sense,  public  property.  Zan- 
chius,  if  you  chose  to  buy  him,  was  yours  to 
read  ;  and,  if  you  thought  yourself  equal  to  the 
undertaking,  was  yours  to  answer  :  but  he  was 
not  yours  to  mangle.  Remember  how  narrowly 
you  escaped  a*  prosecution  some  years  ago,  for 
pirating  the  poems  of  Dr.  Young. 

I  would  wish  you  to  keep  your  hands  from  li- 
terary picking  and  stealing.  However,  if  you 
cannot  refrain  from  this  kind  of  stealth,  you  can 
abstain  from  murdering  what  you  steal.  You 
ought  not,  with  Ahab,  to  kill,  as  well  as  take  pos- 
session ;  nor  giant  like,  to  strew  the  area  of  your 
den  with  the  bones  of  such  authors  as  you  have 
seized  and  slain. 

On  most  occasions  you  are  too  prone  to  set  up 
your  own  infallible  judgment  as  the  very  lapis  ly- 
dius  of  right  and  wrong.  Hence  the  firebrands, 
arrows,  and  death,  which  you  hurl  at  those  who 
presume  to  vary  from  the  oracles  you  dictate. 
Hence,  particularly,  your  illiberal  and  malevo- 
lent spleen  against  the  Protestant  Dissenters  ;f 
though  yourself  are,  in  many  respects,  a  Dissen- 


*  See  almost  every  part  of  what  Mr.  Wesley  miscalls,  The 
Christian  Library. 

f  "  How  little  is  the  case  mended  at  the  meeting  ?  either 
lihe  teachers  are  new-light  men,  denying  the  Lord  that 
bought  them ;  or  they  are  Predestinarians,  and  so  preach  pre- 


283 

ter  of  the  worst  kind.  I  would  not,  however,  by 
this  declaration,  be  understood,  as  if  I  meant  to 
dishonour  that  respectable  body,  by  classing  you 
with  them  ;  for  you  stand  alone,  and  are  a  Dis- 
senter of  a  cast  peculiar  to  yourself.  And  yet,  like 
Henry  I.  you  are  for  making  the  length  of  your 
own  arm  the  standard-measure  for  every  body 
else.  ,No  wonder,  therefore,  that  you  eminently 
inherit  the  fate  of  Ishmael :  that  your  "  hand 
is  against  every  man,  and  every  man's  hand 
against  you."  Strange  !  that  one  who  pleads  so 
strenuously  for  universal  love  in  the  Deity, 
should  adopt  so  little  of  the  love  for  which  he 
pleads  !  That  a  person  of  principles  so  large, 
should  have  an  heart  so  narrow  !  Bigots  of  eve- 
destination  and  final  perseverance,  more  or  less.  Nor  is  it 
expedient  for  any  Methodist  Preacher,  to  imitate  the  Dissen- 
ters in  their  manner  of  praying  ;  either  in  his  tone,  or 
in  his  language,  or  in  the  length  of  his  prayer.  Neither 
should  we  sing  like  them,  in  a  slow,  drawling  manner.  We 
sing  swift,  both  because  it  saves  time,  and  because  it  tends  to 
awaken  and  enliven  the  soul." 

Mr.  Wesley's  Preserv.  against  unsettled  notions,  p.  244. 

How  much  more  civilly,  not  to  say  cordially,  this  gentleman 
shakes  hands  with  the  Papists,  let  his  own  words  declare  : 
**  Can  nothing  be  done,  even  allowing  us  on  botli  sides  to  re- 
tain our  opinions,  for  the  softening  our  hearts  towards  each 
other  ? — My  dear  friend  consider,  I  am  not  persuading  you  to 
leave  or  change  your  religion:  but  to  follow  after  that  fear 
and  love  of  God,  without  which  all  religion  is  vain.  I  say 
not  a  word  to  you  about  your  opinions,  or  outward  manner 
of  worship — We  ought,  without  this  endless  jangling  about 
opinions,  to  provoke  one  another  to  love  and  to  good  works. 
Let  the  points  wherein  we  differ  stand  aside.  Here  are 
enough  wherein  we  agree. — O  Brethren,  let  us  not  still  fall 
out  by  the  way !'' 

Mr.  Wesley's  letter  to  a  Roman  Catholic,  p-  4,  8,  10. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  charge  Mr.  Wesley  with  a  fond- 
ness for  all  the  grosser  parts  of  Popery.  Yet  I  fear  the 
partition  between  that  church  and  him,  is  somewhat  thinner 
than  might  he  wished.  Or,  rather,  like  the  loving  Pyramus 
and  Thisbe,  they  endeavour  to  remedy  the  want  of  a  perfect 
coalition,  by  kissing  each  other  through  an  hole  in  the  wall. 


284 

ry  denomination  arc  much  the  same  r  and  of  all 
vices,  bigotry  is  one  of  the  meanest  and  most 
mischievous.  Its  shriveled,  contracted  breast, 
leaves  no  room  for  the  noble  virtues  to  dilate  and 
play.  Candour,  benevolence,  and  forbearance  be- 
come smothered  and  extinguished ;  partly,  from 
being  crampt  by  littleness  of  mind  ;  partly  from 
being  overwhelmed  with  intellectual  dust.  Bi- 
gotry is  a  determined  enemy  to  truth ;  inasmuch 
as  it  essentially  interferes  with  freedom  of  inqui- 
ry, restrains  the  grand  indefeisible  right  of  pri- 
vate judgment,  confines  our  regard  to  a  party, 
and,  by  limiting  the  extent  of  moderation  and 
mutual  good-will,  tears  up  charity  by  the  very 
roots.  In  short,  bigotry  is  the  very  essence  of 
Popery  ;  and,  too  often  leads  votaries  before  they 
are  aware,  into  the  bosom  of  that  pretended 
church,  whose  doctrines  and  maxims  are  the  worst 
corruption  of  the  best  religion  that  ever  was. 
And  though  this  baneful  vice  is  so  uncomforta- 
ble in  itself,  so  contrary  to  the  genius  of  the 
gospel,  and  so  extensively  pernicious  in  its 
effects  ;  yet,  is  it  not  as  common  as  it  is  detesta- 
ble ?  May  all  God's  children  be  enabled  to  cast 
it  with  the  rest  of  their  idols,  to  the  moles  and 
to  the  bats  ! 

You  have  obliquely  given  me  a  sneering  lec- 
ture upon  "  modesty,  self-diffidence,  and  tender- 
ness" to  opponents  :  And,  it  must  be  owned,  that 
the  lesson  comes  with  a  peculiar  grace,  and  quite 
in  character  from  you.  The  words  sound  well : 
But,  like  many  other  prescribers,  you  say,  and  do 
not.  Else>  why  do  you  represent  me  as  telling 
my  readers,  that  they  must,  upon  pain  of  damna- 
tion, believe  that  only  one  person  in  twenty 
is  elected  ?"  Why  do  you  introduce  me  as  en- 
joining them  to  believe,  under  the  same  penalty, 
<*  That  the  elect  shall  be   savedj  do  what  they 


285 

will  ;  and  the  reprobate  be  damned,  do  what  they 
can  ?"  This  is  a  sample,  indeed,  of  your  own 
modesty,  tenderness,  and  self-diffidence  :  but, 
God  forbid,  that  I  should  give  such  dismal  proof 
of  mine.  I  believe  and  preach,  that  the  chosen  and 
ransomed  of  the  Lord,  are  "  appointed  to  salva- 
tion through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  and  be- 
lief of  the  truth  :"  And,  with  regard  to  the  rest, 
that  they  will  be  condemned,  not  for  doing  what 
they  can  in  a  moral  way,  but  for  not  doing  what 
they  can  :  for  not  believing  the  gospel  report ; 
and  for  not  ordering  their  conversation  according 
to  it. 

Let  me  likewise  ask  you,  when  or  where  1 
ever  presumed  to  ascertain  the  number  of  God's 
elect  ?  Point  out  the  treatise  and  the  page 
wherein  I  assert  that  only  u  One  in  twenty  of 
mankind  arc  elected."  The.  book  of  life  is  not 
in  your  keeping,  nor  in  mine.  The  Lord,  and 
the  Lord  only,  "  knoweth  them  that  are  his." 
He  alone,  M  who  telleth  the  number  of  the  stars, 
and  calleth  them  all  by  their  names  ;"  calleth  also 
a  his  own  sheep  by  name,  and  Ieadeth  them  out ;" 
first,  from  a  state  of  sin  into  a  state  of  grace,  and 
then  into  a  state  of  glory.  Yet,  as  the  learned 
and  devout  Beza  expresses  himself,  "  I  shall  ne- 
ver blush  to  abide  by  that  simplicity,  which  the 
Holy  Spirit,  speaking  in  the  scriptures,  hath  been 
pleased  to  adopt  :"•  And  'tis  but  too  certain,  that 
in  the  scriptures  are  such  awful  passages  as 
these  ;  "  Broad  is  the  way,  and  wide  the  gate, 
which  Ieadeth  to  destruction,  and  many  there  be 
that  go  in  thereat :"  While,  on  the  other  hand, 
"  Strait  is  the  gate,  and  narrow  is  the  way,  that 
Ieadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that  find  it. — 

*  Me  vero  iflius  simplicitatis,  quam  Sp.  S.  amplexus  estp 
nuiifjuam  pudebit,  JBcza,  in  Matth.  iu  2- 

24  * 


28(5 

Many  are  called,  but  few  chosen. — Fear  not  lit- 
tle flock  ;  for  it  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure  to 
give  you  the  kingdom. — There  is  a  remnant  ac- 
cording to  the  election  of  grace."  Declarations 
of  this  tremendous  import,  instead  of  furnishing 
you  with  fuel  for  contention,  and  setting  you  on 
a  presumptuous  and.  fruitless  calculation  of  the 
number  that  shall  be  saved  or  lost ;  should  rather 
bring  you  on  your  knees  before  God,  with  your 
hand  upon  your  breast,  and  this  cry  in  your  lips  : 
"  Search  me,  O  Lord,  and  try  me  ;  prove  me 
also,  and  examine  my  thoughts.  Shew  "  me 
to  which  class  I  belong.  Give  me  solid  proof 
that  my  name  is  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life,  by 
making  it  clear  to  me  that  I  am  in  the  faith." 
And  ever  remember,  that  true  faith  utterly  dis- 
claims all  ground  of  pretension  to  justification 
and  eternal  life,  but  on  the  sole  footing  of  God's 
absolute  grace,  and  the  Messiah's  finished  re- 
demption. Pelagianism  is  for  serving  the  Deity, 
as  Pope  Celestine  III.  is  said  to  have  treated  the 
Emperor  Henry  VI.  It  quite  kicks  off  the 
crown  from  the  head  of  sovereign  grace,  and  makes 
the  will  of  God  bend,  and  truckle,  and  shape  it- 
self to  the  caprice  of  man.  Arminianism,  some- 
what more  specious,  but  altogether  as  pernicious, 
cuts  the  crown  in  two,  by  dividing  the  praise  of 
salvation  between  God  and  man,  and  fairly  runs 
away  with  half.  On  the  contrary,  the  faith  which 
is  of  Divine  operation,  acts  like  the  Emperor 
Charles  V.  when  he  retired  from  the  throne  :  It 
resigns  the  crown  entirely,  and  renounces  it  for 
ever,  without  reserving  so  much  as  a  single  jew- 
el for  itself. 

Should  the  Holy  Spirit  vouchsafe  to  lead  you 
thus  far ;  you  will  then  no  longer  be  ready  to  ob- 
ject, "  That  the  elect  shall  be  saved,  do  what  they 
will :"  For  you  will  know  by  heart- felt  experi- 


287 

ence,  that  the  converted  elect  are,  and  cannot  but 
be,  ambitious  to  perform  all  those  good  works,  in 
which  God  hath  ordained  them  to  walk  ;  and  to 
act  worthy  of  him,  who  hath  graciously  and  ef- 
fectually called  them  to  his  kingdom  and  glory. 
Your  pretended  fear  of  Antinomianism,  like 
your  real  fear  of  the  Comet,  which  was  expect- 
ed to  have  appeared  a  few  years  back,  is  per- 
fectly idle  and  chimerical.  You  publicly  testified 
your  apprehensions,  that  the  latter  would  dry  up 
our  rivers,  and  burn  up  our  vegetables,  if  not 
reduce  the  earth  itself  to  a  cinder.  But  your 
prophecies  proved  to  be,  "  The  baseless  fabric 
of  a  vision  :"  and  our  rivers,  trees,  and  earth, 
remain  as  they  were. — Nor  will  the  doctrines  of 
grace,  experimentally  received  into  the  heart, 
destroy  or  weaken  the  obligations  of  moral*  vir- 


*  Consciousness  of  guilt,  and  dread  of  detection,  frequently 
put  bad  men  upon  entering  those  accusations  against  their 
opponents,  which,  without  such  a  timely  precaution,  they  are 
justly  apprehensive,  will  be  charged  upon  themselves  ;  like 
the  apostate  spirits  in  Milton,  who  were  for  turning  their  own 
torments  into  weapons  against  heaven.  Such  is  the  prudent 
conduct  of  very  many  Arminians.  Fully  aware,  that  their 
own  lives  are  none  of  the  best,  they  affect  to  cry  out  against 
Calvinism,  as  though  she  was  the  very  mother  and  nurse  of 
licentiousness.  Were  she  really  so,  what  myriads  would  de- 
sert the  standard  of  Arminius,  and  flock  to  the  banner  of  Cal- 
vin !  But  all,  who  are  capable  of  discernment  know,  that  the 
pretended  licentious  tendency  of  Calvinism  (so  called)  is  no 
more  than  idle  flourish  and  empty  declamation.  Were  the 
doctrines  of  grace  unfavourable  to  strict  morality,  we  should 
quickly  see  them  the  reigning  system  of  the  age.  On  the 
contrary,  they  are  therefore  at  present  unfashionable,  because 
they  make  no  allowance  for  the  wickedness  of  the  wicked. 
'Tis  a  fundamental  axiom  with  us,  who  abide  by  the  princi- 
ples of  the  reformation,  that  holiness  of  heart  and.  life  is  (not 
the  cause,  price  or  condition,  but  which  adds  infinitely 
stronger  security  to  the  interests  of  moral  virtue)  an  essential 
and  inseparable  part  of  that  very  salvation,  to  which  the  elect 
were  chosen  from  everlasting.    A  Calvinist  must,  conse- 


283 

tue.  On  the  contrary,  they  will  operate  on 
the  practice,  not  like  your  scorching  comet 
on  our  globe ;  but  like  the  genial  beams  of 
the  sun,  which  diffuse  gladness,  and  occasion 
fruitfulness,  wherever  they  arise.  Whoever  wish- 
es in  earnest  to  lead  a  new  life,  must  first  cordi- 
ally embrace  the  true  old  doctrine  of  salvation  by 
grace  alone. — In  short,  your  own  tenet  of  sin- 
less perfection,  leads  directly  to  the  grossest  An- 
tinomianism.  I  once  knew  a  lady  whom  you 
had  inveigled  into  your  pale,  and  who,  in  a  short 
space,  professed  herself  perfect.  Being  in  her 
company  some  time  after,  I  pointed  out  a  part  of 
her  conduct,  which  to  me  seemed  hardly  com- 
patible with  a  sinless  state.  Her  answer  was  to 
this  effect :  "  You  are  no  competent  judge  of  my 
behaviour.  You  are  not  yourself  perfectly  sanc- 
tified ;  and  therefore  see  my  tempers  and  actions 
through  a  false  medium.  I  may  to  you  seem  an- 
gry :  but  my  anger  is  only  Christian  zeal."  I  could, 
moreover,  mention  the  names  of  some  of  your 
quondam  followers-,  who  from  professing  them- 
selves sinless,  have  cast  off  all  appearance  of  god- 
liness, and  are  working  all  manner  of  iniquity 
with  greediness.  If  you  are  in  search  of  Anti- 
nomians,  truly  and  justly  so  called,  you  must 
look  for  them,  not  among  those  whom  you  term 
Calvinists,    but  among  your  own  hair-brained* 


quently,  renounce  botli  the  letter  and  the  spirit  of  his  own 
constitutive  principles  (i.  e.  he  must  cease  to  be  a  Calvinist) 
ere  he  can,  consistently,  degenerate  into  a  sensualist. 

*  I  might,  with  too  much  justice,  add,  that  some  of  Mr. 
W.'s  own  lay-preachers  are  indisputably  to  be  numbered 
among  practical  Antinomians.  These,  however,  are  regard- 
ed by  their  partisans  as  very  excellent  men,  that  have  not  yet 
attained  to  perfection,  though  they  are  in  a  fair  way  for  it. 
If  Mr.  Wesley  should  have  the  front  to  deny,  that  any  of  his- 


perfectionists.  Had  not  you  yourself  (to  re- 
mind you  of  but  one  instance)  a  proof  of  it,  not 
very  long  ago  ?  You  formed  a  scheme  of  collect- 
ing as  many  perfect  ones  as  you  could,  to  live  to- 
gether under  one  roof.  A  number  of  these  flowers 
were  accordingly  transplanted  from  some  of  your 
nursery-beds  to  the  hot- house.  And  an  hot- 
house it  soon  proved.  For,  would  we  believe  it  ? 
the  sinless  people  quarrelled  in  a  short  time  at 
so  violent  a  rate,  that  you  found  yourself  forced 
to  disband  the  select  regiment.  Had  you  kept 
them  together  much  longer,  that  line  would  have 
been  literally  verified  in  these  squabbling  mem- 
bers of  your  church  militant ; 

"  The  males  pull'd  noses,  and  the  females  caps." 

A  very  small  house  I  am  persuaded  would  hold 
the  really  perfect  upon  earth.  You  might  drive 
them  all  into  a  nutshell :  but  to  return. 

I  cannot  dismiss  your  objection,  concerning 
the  supposed  fewness  of  God's  truly  elect  peo- 
ple, without  observing,  that  how  few  soever  they 
may  appear,  and  really  be,  in  a  single  genera- 


preaching-  mechanics  are  men  of  loose  lives,  I  have  it  in  my 
power  to  appeal  to  facts,  which  a  tenderness  for  those  per- 
sons,  as  individuals  of  mankind,  find  a  concern  for  the  honour 
of  human  nature  in  general,  restrain  me  at  present  from  hold- 
ing up  to  public  view.  Nor  would  I  be  thought  to  hint  at 
these  things  with  pleasurable  triumph.  I  feel  too  strongly 
for  the  interests  of  christian  obedience,  and  for  the  happiness 
of  souls,  to  exult  over  the  vices  of  the  vicious;  but,  when  men 
whose  lives  would  be  a  disgrace  to  heathenism  ;  when  men, 
whom  Socrates  or  Seneca  would  have  blushed  to  own  for 
disciples  ;  take  upon  them  to  arraign  the  doctrines  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  of  our  established  church,  under  a  pretence 
of  guarding  against  those  immoralities  of  which  ii:ey  them- 
selves are  notorious  and  noon-day  examples.  What  can  such 
shameless  railers  expect,  but  to  have  their  own  real  crimes 
deservedly  exposed  ? 


290 

tion,  and  as  balanced  with  the  many  unrighteous 
among  whom  they  live  below ;  yet  when  the 
whole  number  of  the  Redeemer's  jewels  is  made 
up — when  the  entire  harvest  of  his  saints  is  ga- 
thered in — when  his  complete  mystic  body  is 
presented  collectively  before  the  throne  of  his 
Father  :  they  will  amount  to  an  exceeding  great 
multitude,  which  no  man  can  number.  On  earth* 
the  company  of  the  faithful  may  to  us  who  know 
but  in  part,  resemble  Elijah's  cloud,  which  at  first 
seemed  no  "bigger  than  a  man's  hand:"  where- 
as in  the  day  of  God,  they  will  be  found  to  over- 
spread the  whole  heavens.  They  may  appear 
now,  to  use  Isaiah's  phrase,  but  as  "  two  or  three 
berries  on  the  top  of  a  bough,  or  as  four  or  five 
in  the  most  fruitful  branches  thereof;"  but  they 
shall  then  be  like  the  tree  in  Nebuchadnezzar's 
vision,  "  the  height  of  which  reached  unto  hea- 
ven, and  the  sight  of  it  to  the  end  of  all  the 
earth :  the  leaves  whereof  were  fair,  and  the 
fruit  thereof  much."  The  kingdom  of  glory 
will  both  be  more  largely  and  more  variously 
peopled  than  bigots  of  all  denominations  are 
either  able  to  think,  or  willing  to  allow. 

Go  now,  Sir,  and  dazzle  the  credulous  with 
your  mock  victory  over  the  supposed  reproba- 
tion of  "  nineteen  in  twenty."  Go  on  to  chalk 
hideous  figures  on  your  wainscot ;  and  enjoy  the 
glorious  triumph  of  battering  your  knuckles  in 
fighting  them.  But  father  no  more  of  your  hi- 
deous figures  on  me.  Do  not  dress  up  scare- 
crows of  your  own,  and  then  affect  to  run  away 
from  them  as  mine.  I  do  not  expect  to  be  treat- 
ed by  Mr.  John  Wesley  with  the  candour  of  a 
gentleman,  or  the  meekness  of  a  Christian ;  but 
I  wish  him,  for  his  reputation's  sake,  to  write 
and  act  with  the  honesty  of  an  heathen. 


291 

You  affect  to  be  deemed  a  minister  of  the  na- 
tional church.  Why  then  do  you  decry  her  doc- 
trines, and  as  far  as  in  you  lies,  sap  her  disci- 
pline ?  That  you  decry  her  doctrines  needs  no 
proof :  Witness  for  example,  the  wide  discrepan- 
cy between  her  decisions  and  yours,  on  the  ar- 
ticles of  free  will,  justification,  predestination, 
perseverance,  and  sinless  perfection  ;  to  say  no- 
thing concerning  your  new-fangled  doctrine  of 
the  intermediate  state  of  departed  souls.* 

That  you  likewise  do  not  overflow  with  zeal 
for  the  discipline!  of  the  Church  of  England  is 
manifest  not  only  from  the  numerous  and  intri- 


*  In  Mr.  Wesley's  first  edition  of  his  notes  on  the  New 
Testament,  published  in  1755,  are  the  two  following-  asser- 
tions :  than  which,  even  he  himself  has,  perhaps,  never  given 
a  more  striking  specimen  of  presumption  and  inconsistency. 
"  Enoch  and  Elijah  are  not  in  heaven,  but  only  in  paradise  ;" 
note  on  John  iii.  13.  "  Enoch  and  Elijah  entered  at  once  in- 
to the  highest  degree  of  glory,  without  first  waiting  in  para- 
dise ;"  note  on  Rev.  xix.  20.  This  it  is  to  be  wise  above 
what  is  written  ! 

f  Mr.  Wesley's  rebaptization  of  some  adult  persons  is 
another  proof  of  this  charge.  I  could  point  out  by  name 
more  than  one  who  have  undergone  from  his  hands  a  reitera- 
tion of  that  sacred  ceremony.  I  shall  only  at  present,  men- 
tion a  single  instance,  which  I  had  from  the  person  herself, 
with  permission  to  publish  her  name  at  full  length,  in  case 
Mr.  W.  should  deny  the  fact.  Mrs.  L.  S.  now  living  in  South- 
wark,  was  baptized  in  a  bathing  tub,  in  a  cellar,  by  Mr.  John 
Wesley ;  who,  at  the  time,  held  her  down  so  very  long  under 
water,  while  he  deliberately  pronounced  the  words  of  the  ad- 
ministration, that  some  friends  of  her's,  who  were  present, 
screamed  out  from  an  apprehension  that  she  was  actually 
drowned ;  and  she  herself  was  so  far  gone,  that  she  began  to 
grow  insensible,  and  was  lifted  out  of  the  water  but  just  time 
enough  to  save  her  life.  Yet  this  is  the  man,  who,  in  the 
writings  which  he  has  published  to  the  world,  professes  to 
hold  infant  baptism,  and  that  by  sprinkling,  not  by  im- 
mersion ! 

Quo  tcneatn  Vultus  mutantem  Protea  J\edo  ? 


192 


cate  regulations,  with  which  you  fetter  f  your  so- 
cieties, but  from  the.  measures  you  lately  pursu- 
ed, when  a  foreign  mendicant  was  in  England, 


f  The  rules  of  what  Mr.  Wesley  calls  the  Band-Societies, 
demonstrate  the  miserable  servitude  of  those  who  are  ad- 
mitted into  that  gossiping  club.  The  whole  of  these  rule* 
would  be  too  tedious  to  insert.  One  or  two  of  them,  as  sam- 
ples of  the  rest,  may  not  be  unacceptable  to  the  reader. 

"  To  speak,  each  of  us  in  order,  freely  and  plainly,  the  true 
state  of  our  souls ;  with  the  faults  we  have  committed  in 
thought,  word  or  deed ;  and  the  temptations  we  have  felt 
since  our  last  meeting." 

"  To  desire  some  person  among  us  to  speak  his  own  state 
first,  and  then  ask  the  rest  in  oi'der,  as  many  and  as  search- 
ing questions  as  may  be  concerning  their  state,  sins  and 
temptations." 

Among  the  questions  proposed  to  such  as  are  candidates 
for  admission  into  this  pretended  sanctum  sanctorum,  is  the 
following: 

"  It  is  your  desire  and  design  to  be  on  this  and  all  other 
occasions  entirely  open,  so  as  to  speak  every  thing  that  is  in 
your  heart  without  exception,  without  disguise,  and  without 
reserve." 

The  printed  account  from  whence  these  extracts  were 
taken  verbatim,  adds  ;  that  the  five  following  questions  are 
to  be  asked  at  every  meeting  : 

1.  "  What  known  sins  have  you  committed  since  our  last 
meeting  ? 

2.  "  What  temptations  have  you  met  with  ? 

3.  "  How  was  you  delivered  ? 

4.  "  What  have  you  thought,  said  or  done,  of  which  you 
doubt  whether  it  be  sin  or  not  ? 

5.  "  Have  you  nothing  you  desire  to  keep  a  secret  ?" 
The  reader  doubtless  will,  on  this  occasion,  be  reminded 

of  the  popish  practice  of  auricular  confession.  For  my  own 
part  I  make  no  scruple  to  acknowledge,  that  confession  as 
managed  in  the  church  of  Rome,  is  infinitely  preferable  to 
confession,  as  conducted  under  the  auspices  of  Mr.  Wesley. 
In  those  countries,  where  Popery  is  established,  confession  is 
made  only  to  one  person,  and  he  a  priest :  who,  if  he  divul- 
ges what  is  made  known  to  him  under  the  character  of  con- 
lessor,  is  liable  by  law  to  suffer  death.  But  in  these  Band 
Societies,  the  most  open  and  unreserved  confession  is,  it 
seems,  made  in  the  hearing  of  a  dozen  or  twenty  eld  wo- 


293 

who  went  by  the  name  of  Erasmus,  and  styled 
himself  Bishop  of  Arcadia.  This  old  gentle- 
man passed  for  a  prelate  of  the  Greek  church  ; 
though  to  me,  it  seems  not  improbable  that  he 
might  rather  be  a  member  of  the  Romish.  This 
much,  however,  is  certain ;  that  the  chaplains 
of  the  then  Russian  Ambassador  here,  knew  no- 
thing about  him  ;  and  that  to  this  day  the  Greek 
church  in  Amsterdam  believe  him  to  be  an  im- 
postor. With  regard  to  this  person,  I  take  the 
liberty  of  putting  one  or  two  queries  to  you. 

1.  Did  you,  or  did  you  not,  get  him*  to  ordaiii 
several  of  your  lay-preachers,  according  to  the 
manner  of  what  he  tsdled  the  Greek  ritual  ? 


men  and  boys,  who  are  at  liberty  to  blab  out  all  they  hea£, 
without  being  obnoxious  to  any  penalty  at  all. 

I  shall  only  transcribe  from  the  above  account  the  two  fol* 
lowing  rules,  imposed  on  these  same  societies  : 

1.  "  To  wear  no  needless  ornaments  ;  such  as  rings,  ear- 
rings, necklaces,  lace,  ruffles. 

2-  "  To  use  no  needless  self-indulgence ;  such  as  taking 
snuff  or  tobacco  i  unless  prescribed  by  the  physician." 

*  There  is  something  vastly  curious  in  the  letter  of  or- 
ders which  this  vagrant  gave  to  the  persons  he  pretended  to 
ordain.  I  once  saw  an  original  letter,  or  certificate,  of  this 
kind,  signed  by  himself.  It  was  written  in  very  mean  Greek  : 
and  which  added  to  my  persuasion  of  Erasmus's  being  an  im- 
postor, was  drawn  up,  not  in  the  modern  Greek  which  the 
Christians  of  that  chureh  now  use,  but  in  the  ancient :  and 
if  I  am  not  greatly  mistaken  the  words  were  likewise  ac 
cented.  I  read  it  over  twice  ;  and  most  sincerely  wish  I  had 
taken  a  copy  of  it :  But  at  that  time  I  regarded  it  only  as  an 
article  of  present  curiosity. — A  friend  of  mine,  however, 
who  improved  his  opportunity  rather  better,  took  a  transla. 
tion  of  it ;  which,  on  my  after  request,  he  favoured  me  with; 
and  upon  the  strength  of  memory,  I  can  venture  to  assure 
the  public,  that  the  version  is  materially  a  just  one.  1  be- 
lieve it  to  be  perfectly  so.     It  runs  thus  : 

"  Our  measure  from  the  grace,  gift  and  power  of  the  all- 
holy  and  life-giving  Spirit,  given    by    our  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ  to  his  divine  and  holy  apostles,  to  ordain  sub-deacons 
and  deacons  j  and  also  to  advance  to  the  dignity  of  a  priest .' 
25 
• 


294 

2.  Did  these  lay-preachers  of  yours,  or  did 
they  not,  both  dress  or  officiate  as  clergymen 
of  the  church  of  England,  in  consequence  of 
that  ordination  ?  And  under  the  sanction  of  your 
own  avowed  approbation  ;  notwithstanding,  put- 
ting matters  at  the  best,  they  could  only  be  mi- 
nisters of  the  Greek  church,  and  which  could 
give  them  no  legal  right  to  act  as  ministers  of 
the  church  of  England.  Nay,  did  you  not  re- 
peatedly declare,  that  their  ordination  was  to  all 
intents  and  purposes  as  valid  as  your  own,  which 
you  received  forty  years  ago  at  Oxford  ? 

3.  Did  you,  or  did  you  not,  strongly  press  this 
supposed  Greek  Bishop  to  consecrate  you  a  bish- 
op at  large,  that  you  might  be  invested  with  a 
power  of  ordaining  what  ministers  you  pleased 
to  officiate  in  your  societies  as  clergymen  ?  And 
did  he  not  refuse  to  consecrate,  alleging  this  for 
his  reason,  that  according  to  the  canons  of  the 
Greek   church,  more   than  one   bishop  must  be 


Of  this  grace,  which  hath  descended  to  our  humility,  I  have 
ordained  sub-deacon  and  deacon,  at  Snow-fields  Chapel,  on 
the  19th  day  of  Nov.  1764,  and  at  Wells-street  Chapel,  on 
the  24th  of  the  same  month,  Priest ;  the  Rev.  Mr.  W.  C.  ac- 
cording to  the  rules  of  the  holy  Apostles  and  of  our  faith. 
Moreover,  I  have  given  to  him  power  to  minister  and  teach, 
in  all  the  world,  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  no  one  forbid- 
ding him  in  the  church  of  God,  wherefore,  for  that  very  pur- 
pose I  have  made  this  present  letter  of  recommendation 
from  our  humility,  and  have  given  it  to  the  ordained  Mr.  W. 
C.  for  liis  certificate  and  security. 

"  Given  and  written  at  London,  in  Britain,  November 
24th,  1774. 

"  ERASMUS,  Bishop  of  Arcadia." 

I  cannot  help  suspecting,  that  his  humility,  as  he  styles 
himself,  if  the  truth  was  known,  nearly  related  to  another 
certain  old  gentleman,  who  no  less  humbly  writes  himself, 
Servant  of  the  servants  of  God. — His  humility  of  Arcadia., 
and  his-  holiness  of  Rome,  are,  I  doubt  not,  sorts  of  one  and 
the  same  ecclesiastical  mother. 


295 
present  to  assist,  at  the  consecration  of  a  new 


one 


4.  In  all  this,  did  you  or  did  you  not  palpably 
violate  a  certain  oath,  which  you  have  repeatedly 
taken  ?  I  mean  the  oath  of  supremacy :  part  of 
which  runs  thus ; 

"■  And  I  do  declare  that  no  foreign  prince, 
person,  prelate,  state,  or  potentate,  hath  or  ought 
to  have  any  jurisdiction,  power,  superiority,  pre- 
eminence, or  authority,  ecclesiastical  or  spiritual, 
within  this  realm  :   so  help  me  God." 

Now  is  not  the  conferring  of  orders  an  act  of 
the  highest  ecclesiastical  power  and  authority  ? 
And  was  not  this  man  a  foreigner  ?  And  were 
not  the  steps  you  took,  a  positive  acknowledg- 
ment of  a  foreign  power  and  jurisdiction  !  And 
was  not  such  acknowledgment  a  breach  of  your 
oath  ? 

It  matters  not  whether  Erasmus  was  in  fact 
an  impostor  or  a  genuine  Greek  Bishop.  Unless 
you  was  very  insincere,  you  took  him  to  be  what 
he  passed  for.  If  you  did  not,  you  was  party  to  a 
fraud.  Either  way,  pretend  no  longer  to  love  the 
church  of  England!  you  who  so  lately  endeavoured 
to  set  up  imperium  in  imperio  J  If  you  are  honest, 
you  will  either  publicly  confess  your  fault ;  or, 
for  ever  throw  aside  your  gown  and  cassock. 
You  will  either  return  to  the  service  of  the 
church,  or  cease  to  wear  her  livery. — You  may 
think,  perhaps,  that  I  make  too  free,  in  expostu- 
lating with  you  so  plainly.  And  yet  on  maturer 
thought,  I  question  whether  you  may  or  not. 
How  can  Mr.  Wesley,  who  on  all  occasions  makes 
so  very  free  with  others,  be  angry  with  young 
translators  for  copying  (though  at  a  humble  dis- 
tance) so  venerable  an  example.  Nor  indeed 
ought  a  person  who,  beyond  even  what  truth 
and  decency  permit,   take  so  great  liberties  with 


296 

the  rest  of  his  contemporaries ;  to  wonder,  if  so 
far  as  decency  allow,  the  rest  of  his  contempora- 
ries take  as  great  liberties  with  him. 

You  complain,  I  am  told,  that  the  evangelical 
clergy  are  leaving  no  stone  unturned  "  to  raise 
John  Calvin's  ghost,  in  all  quarters  of  the  land." 
If  you  think  the  doctrines  of  that  eminent  and 
blessed  Reformer  to  be  formidable  as  a  ghost ; 
you  are  welcome  to  do  all  you  can  toward  lay- 
ing them.  Begin  your  incantations  as  soon  as 
you  please'.  The  press  is  open  :  and  you  neve* 
had  a  fairer  opportunity  of  trying  your  strength 
upon  John  Calvin,  than  at  present.  Only  take 
care  that  you  do  not,  with  all  your  -skill  in  theo- 
logical magic,  get  yourself  into  a  circle,  out  of 
which  you  may  find  it  difficult  to  retreat — And 
alittleto  mitigate  your  wrath  against  the  raisers  of 
Calvin's  ghost,  remember,  that  you  yourself  have 
been  a  great  ghost-raiser  in  your  time.  Who  rais- 
ed the  ghosts  of  John  Goodwin,  the  Arminian  re* 
gicide  ;  and  of  Thomas  Grantham,  the  Arminian? 
Baptist  ?    who  raised  a  ghost  of  Monsieur*    De 


*  As  a  specimen  of  Mr.  Wesley's  regard  to,  at  least  the  mi- 
nutiae of  Popery,  I  shall  select  a  few  passages  from  his  life  of 
this  Monsieur  De  Renty,  which  now  lies  before  me.  The  rea- 
der will  observe,  that  the  sentences  enclosed  with  inverted 
commas  are  Mr.  Wesley's  own  words. 

He  speaks  favourably  of  this  French  Papist,  for  his  regu- 
larly "  saying  the  Itinerarium"  and  then  "  singing  the  Lita- 
nies of  our  Lord,"  before  he  set  out  on  any  journey;  and  for 
taking  due  care  to  "  sing  the  Vespers,"  while  he  was  upon  the 
road — page  3-  Among  the  instances  of  Monsieur's  humility, 
are  reckoned  (page  9  and  10.)  his  not  permitting  "  a  cushion 
to  be  carried  for  him"  when  he  went  to  mass  ;  and  his  fre- 
quently saying  **  his  prayers  at  the  outside  of  the  church." 
Also  his  going  abroad  to  visit  a  monastery  "  on  foot,"  and 
that  too  "  in  thawing  weather  :"  nay,  he  would  sometimes 
•'  traverse,  in  a  manner,  all  Paris,"  even  when  ••  it  poured 
down  with  rain."  And  yet,  with  all  this  mad  humility,  Mr. 
De  Renty,  it  seems,  kept  a  coach  of  his  own.    Had  he  been 


297 

Renty  the  French  Papist ;  and  of  many  other  Ro- 
mish enthusiasts  ;  by  translating  their  lives  into 
English  for  the  edification  of  Protestant  readers  I 


consistent,  he  would  have  entirely  shorn  himself  of  this  su- 
pernumerary convenience,  by  laying  down  his  carriage.  But 
then,  where  would  have  been  the  merit  of  spontaneously  tra- 
versing all  Paris  on  foot  when  it  poured  down  with  rain  ?  His 
dutiful  demeanour  to  the  priest,  which  had  the  care  of  his 
soul,  as  its  father-confessor,  is  a  feature  of  Mr.  De  Renty's 
saintship,  on  which  Mr.  Wesley,  with  peculiar  rapture,  dwells 
and  dilates.  Page  11.  "  A  further  proof  of  his  humility,  was 
his  carriage  to  his  director.  He  did  nothing  that  concerned 
himself  without  his  conduct.  To  him  he  proposed  whatever 
he  designed  either  by  speaking  or  writing,  clearly  and  punc- 
tually ;  desiring  his  advice,  his  pleasure,  and  his  blessing  up- 
on it ;  and  that  with  the  utmost  repect  and  submission. 
And  without  reply,  or  disputing,  he  simply  and  exactly  fol- 
lowed his  order.'*  This  was  good  Catholic  obedience  indeed ! 
and,  no  doubt,  Mr.  Wesley  had  a  view,  in  proposing  such  an 
example  to  the  imitation  of  his  Protestant  followers.  Under 
the  article  of  De  Renty's  "  self-denial  and  mortification,"  we 
are  informed  (page  14.)  that  "he  made  but  one  meal  a  day 
for  several  years,"  and  "  always  of  the  worst  provisions  he 
could  meet  with."  He  would  "  often  step  into  a  baker's 
shop,"  and  dine  on  ••  a  piece  of  bread  and  a  draught  of  wa- 
ter." From  the  same  principle  of  gloomy  and  unthankful  su- 
perstition, he  would  do  penance,  by  "  passing  the  night  in  a 
chair,"  or  lying  down  "  in  his  clothes  and  boots,"  or  sleep- 
ing "  on  a  bench  till  morning."  Being  at  Pontois,  "  in  win- 
ter," he  desired  "  the  Carmelite  Nuns  not  to  make  a  fire,  or 
prepare  a  bed"  for  him.  "  He  parted  with  several  books," 
(page  16.)  "  because"  they  were  "  richly  bound."  He  "  used 
no  gloves  in  any  season  ;  wore  no  clothes,  but  plain  and 
close  made  ;"  and  "  carried  no  silver"  in  his  pockets,  "  ex- 
cept for  charity."  After  which  detail  of  austerities,  the  bio- 
grapher gravely  adds,  "  I  have  seen  him  in  his  coach,  with  a 
page  and  footman."  His  coach,  I  presume,  was  to  carry  him 
on  foot,  when  it  rained ;  his  page  was  to  hold  up  his  clothes, 
which  were  plain  and  close  made  ;  and  the  office  of  the  foot- 
man was  to  reach  him  his  gloves,  whereof  he  wore  none  in 
any  season.  Who  could  ever  have  surmised,  that  such  a 
doleful  series  of  mortification  and  self-denial  would  end  in 
the  fopperies  of  a  coach,  a  page,  and  a  footman  !  Mr.  De 
Renty's  vanity,  which  mixed  itself  with  his  very  austerities, 
reminds  me  of  what  I  am  told  is  common  in  the  streets  c£ 


298 

Should  you  take  any  notice  of  this  letter  I  have 
three  requests  to  make  ;  or  rather,  there  are  three 
particulars  on  which  I  have  a  right  to  insist : 

1.  Don't  quote  unfairly. 

2.  Don't  answer  evasively. 
8.  Don't  print  clandestinely. 

Paris  ;  where  you  may  see  many  a  blind  beggar  bawling  for 
*lms  in  a  bag-wig,  his  hat  under  his  arm,  a  wooden  sword 
by  his  side,  and  paper  ruffles  adorning  the  hand  that  is  ex- 
tended to  receive  charity.  But  to  return  to  the  hero  of  the 
tale.  Having  had  a  quarrel  with  his  mother,  and  the  breach 
being  made  up,  "  he  was  no  sooner  returned  home,  than  he 
caused  Te  Deum.  to  he.  sung1,"  page  24.  "  He  had  great  re- 
spect to  holy  persons  ;  especially  to  priests.  Whenever  he 
met  them,  he  saluted  them  with  profound  humility  ;  and,  in 
his  travels,  would  alight  off  his  horse  to  do  it,"  page  38.  Nop 
does  Mr.  Wesley  omit  to  inform  us,  page  39,  of  Mr.  De 
Renty's  regard  to  such  fugitive  Papists,  as  had  either  render- 
ed themselves  obnoxious  to  the  laws  at  home,  or  preferred 
begging  in  France,  to  living  under  an  heretical  government 
in  Great-Britain.  "  He  was  the  firs^  that  motioned  some  re- 
lief to  the  poor  English,  driven  by  persecution  out  of  their 
own  country."  Nor  mustliis  very  pilgrimages  be  overlooked. 
"  Going,  one  day,  to  visit  the  holy  place  of  Montmatre ;  af- 
ter his  prayers  said  in  the  church,  he  retired  into  a  desolate 
part  of  the  mountain,  near  a  little  spring  :  there  he  kneeled 
down  to  prayer ;  and  that  ended,  he  dined  on  a  piece  of  bread 
and  a  draught  of  water."  Page  45.  Would  it  not  have  been 
still  more  devout,  not  to  have  dined  at  all  on  such  holy 
ground  '  "  One  day  he  visited  a  person,  who,  from  a  ground- 
less suspicion,  had  cruelly  used  his  wife.  Mr.  De  Renty  ac- 
costed him  with  such  soft  language,  that  he  was  persuaded, 
at  length  to  go  to  confession,  which  he  had  not  done  in 
twelve  years  before."  Page  47, 48.  Himself,  says  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, speaking  of  Mr.  De  Renty's  last  illness,  "  made  his  con- 
fession, almost  every  day  till  his  death."    Page  62. 

I  dismiss  these,  and  many  other  passages  in  this  obnoxious 
performance,  without  farther  remark.  Their  tendency  is 
self-evident.  I  shall  only  add,  that,  if  the  reader  has  a  de- 
sire to  see  still  more  enormous  instances  of  Romish  supersti- 
tion and  fanaticism,  he  will  find  them  in  Mr.  Wesley's  lives 
of  some  Spanish  monks,  (who,  more  nationally  grave,  did  not 
imitate  the  French  ascetic,  by  retaining  their  coaches,  pages, 
and  footmen)  in  the  last  volume,  or  last  but  one  of  his  com- 
pilation, entitled  The  Christian  library. 


£99 

Canvass  the  points  of  doctrine  wherein  we  dif- 
fer, as  strictly  as  you  can.  They  will  stand  the 
test.  They  scorn  disguise.  They  disdain  to  sue 
for  quarter.  Truth  like  our  first  parents  in 
a  state  of  innocence,  can  shew  herself  naked  with- 
out being  either  afraid  or  ashamed  :  "  And  he 
that  doth  truth,  cOmeth  to  the  light,  that  his  deeds 
may  be  made  manifest  that  they  are  wrought 
in  God." 

May  you  at  last,  begin  to  act  from  this  princi- 
ple, and  no  longer  prostitute  your  time  and  talents 
to  the  wiredrawing  of  chicanery,  and  the  circu- 
lation of  error  ?  I  am  not  insensible  of  your  parts  ; 
But  alas  !  what  is  distinguished  ability,  if  not 
wedded  to  integrity  ?  No  less  just,  than  ingeni- 
ous, is  the  remark  of  a  learned  and  noble  writer : 
"  The  riches  of  the  mind,  like  those  of  fortune, 
may  be  employed  so  perversely,  as  to  become  a 
nuisance  and  pest,  instead  of  an  ornament  and 
support  to  society."* 

I  am, 

Yours,  &c. 

AUGUSTUS  TOPLADY. 


Dialogues  of  the  dead,  p.  297.  edit.  1765. 


THE    END. 


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